


Coma

by Aelwyn



Category: Arrowverse - Fandom, The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, F/M, Initially Completed on Wattpad on October 25th 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:21:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 33,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23330827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aelwyn/pseuds/Aelwyn
Summary: My name is Barry Allen, and it turns out that I am, in fact, not the fastest person alive, just the most imaginative dreamer on the planet.Tell me something. What would you do if you woke up one day and were told that everything that's happened to you in the past two years of your life was in fact a figment of your imagination? If you were told that, until that moment, you were still in a coma that you only dreamt of waking up from? You'd probably do the same thing I did. Freak out. Panic. Go through the five stages of denial.It's okay, I guess. I miss being the Flash, but... I don't have my speed, so maybe I really did dream it all. Everybody but Iris thinks so. She's stubbornly determined to figure out what caused me to lose my powers and alter reality. Some things never change.At the moment I'm trying to adjust back to ordinary life, which is actually really difficult when metahumans are still a real thing. Me not being able to do anything about it is psychologically scarring, I'm pretty sure. At least they gave me my old job as a CSI back, so I can still help people by catching bad guys. I just wish I could do it by being the Flash.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West
Comments: 36
Kudos: 29





	1. Prologue

Hi. I'm Dreamscape. Metahuman. And to any and all hot eligible young guys out there... I'm totally single. But anyway. It was like a breakthrough when I found out I could manipulate time just enough for people to believe something that had happened to them was all an illusion. I mean, it's pretty awesome. Walk into a bank, rob it, alter time, and hey! Free money! Usually takes them a couple of weeks to spot the missing funds from their vault. And by then I've spent a good portion of it already or have squirreled it away somewhere. The only thing standing in my way was the Flash. But once I discovered his secret identity, everything was so simple! Complete accident, BTW. You see, before the Particle Accelerator explosion I was just a regular beat cop. But that night everything changed. I was chasing down a drug dealer dressed in a hot dog suit- not going to explain that any further- when the entire city was covered by this weird energy cloud. I'd chased the guy into a clock repair shop and was fighting him when it happened. He threw me into a rack of broken clocks, and I was grabbing one to hit him upside the head with when I suddenly found myself at a point in time three minutes earlier. It all was so deja vu. the guy looked at me all over again, saw that I was a cop, and took off running. He suddenly skidded to a halt before I could even give chase and stared at me, terrified.

"Stop it!" He screamed. "I don't know how you're doing this but- but- it _was_ real, wasn't it? You cornering me in that clock shop?"

"What are you talking about?" I retorted, annoyed and confused. I dashed up to him and cuffed him. Not easy when he's in a freaking _hot dog suit._ "Of course it was."

"It was like a dream..." He murmured, clutching his head as if he had a migraine. 

"Yeah sure. Whatever. I've got other dirtbags to catch." My partner pulled up in the cruiser and I shoved sausage boy in. 

"Why didn't you back me up when he started running?" I grumbled. "I had to chase him into a store!" My partner was clutching his head in confusion and pain. 

"What store?" He asked. When he looked at me he jumped in his seat and scrambled madly to get as far away from me as possible in the confined space. "What's wrong with your _eyes!?"_

"What 's the matter with them?" I asked, confused before glancing in one of the mirrors. And then began freaking out. They were _gold. Not their usual brown._ "I- I don't-"

"Just stay away from me!"

Long story short I got a new partner who was more intrigued by my new eye color than creeped out, and I discovered a secondary source of income. After a little while I got promoted to detective, and made sure never to land cases where I was the perp. I didn't even know what I was until Harrison Wells came out with an interview explaining the reason for an appearance of metahumans in the populace. It was around the same time that Central City got its very own superhero- The Flash- and I decided to lay low. Mostly because people had figured out what I was doing. The press called me Dreamscape. Love that name. But I hated the attention it got me, and things were getting too hot for comfort, so I played it smart and fell off the radar. All the while I was thinking that, if I could just figure out who this Flash person was, I could go back and tweak something in their past, change the events in their time stream a little, and _poof!_ No more problem. Unfortunately I'd have to wait an entire year before I got my chance. In that time we had more metahumans show up, and Zoom, and a whole lot of other crazy stuff start happening.

I found out that the CCPD's Forensic Analyst Barry Allen was the Flash entirely by accident. I was walking from the elevator to my desk when I noticed Allen and Detective West chatting. This so wasn't weird at all, because- well, I never really took the time to ask anybody why it wasn't. But it wasn't. Anyway, I'm walking past when I notice Allen casting a furtive glance around the place out of the corner of my eye. Weird. He says goodbye to West, and then suddenly no more Allen. Just gone. So I decided to pull up the Precinct's security footage and went over it, slowing it way down for a second by second frame interval. There he goes, dashing off in a blur. No way that's normal. So I staked out his house one night and saw a bright red and gold blur shoot out the front door, which is all anyone ever sees of the Flash when he goes by if they're lucky. Sometimes it's just a gust of wind. That was when I knew. Luckily for me, it was too perfect. All the time that had gone by, if I just set the time when he woke up from his coma to a later date... I can't explain how I use my abilities, but I can tweak things, small things, in a time stream. They have unexpected repercussions, but usually not too severe. Not severe enough for me to care. So I set the time for him to wake up to be the current day, about two and a half years later than it should have been since he could put everything he did during that time down to dreaming in his coma, and felt the timelines shift about me. My past self easily continued to rob banks and stores without any incident, and Now I'm wealthy. So what if the Flash doesn't show up for 2.5 years that he should have been there? Whatever time ripples come out of that, it can't be too bad. Right?


	2. 1

Barry groaned as his dark vision slowly dissolved into ceiling, and he went to sit up with great difficulty. He had the worst headache he'd ever experienced in his entire life. It felt as if someone had dropped a semi truck on his skull and then taken a sledgehammer and given him a few solid whacks for good measure. He began choking on something that went into his mouth and partway down his throat, and began to panic slightly. He grabbed the tube and pulled it out of his mouth, coughing profusely. He suddenly realized that he was in the Cortex at S.T.A.R. Labs on a hospital bed, and waited for his racing heart to slow back to normal. He was shirtless and barefoot in a pair of sweatpants, and felt dizzy as he swung his legs over the side and let his toes touch the cold laminate floor. 

"Whoa whoa whoa! Hey!" Barry felt a strong hand grip his shoulder and forcibly shove him back down, and he turned to see Felicity sitting in a chair right next to the bed. It was obvious that she had fallen asleep with her face pressed against the covers, because her glasses were skewed and dangling from her ears at an odd angle. 

"Take it easy!" Barry groaned, rubbing his eyes. 

"Hey Felicity," he muttered. "How long was I out?" She stared at him, uncomprehending. 

"You were in a coma," she said gently as if speaking to a confused child. Barry cast her a scathing look.

"If you think that's funny, it's not." 

"I'm not joking," she protested. "I swear." Barry sighed in exasperation.

"Uh huh. Yeah. Sure. I already went over this two and a half years ago with Cisco and Caitlin, so we can skip the "I was struck by lightning" and "my muscles should be atrophied but aren't" conversation, okay? Whatever sick game you think you're playing, I'm really not finding it funny."

"Yo! He's awake!" Cisco exclaimed as he came into the room, rushing over. Caitlin, who had been directly on his heels, beat him to the bed and began examining Barry. Meanwhile, Felicity had slumped back into her chair in shock. 

"How can you possibly know that?" She whispered. 

"How can he know what?" Caitlin asked. Barry stood, fidgeting impatiently as he dodged Dr. Snow's grip while she was temporarily distracted. 

"Cisco, are you in on this too?" He asked, pointing at the two women. Cisco practically dropped his clipboard and pen in surprise. 

"How do you know my name?" He stuttered. 

"He knows what happened to him," Felicity broke in. 

"I'm _fine,_ okay?" Barry snapped as Caitlin tried to come after him with a blood collection kit. "I mean, yeah, I've got a headache that's going like a jackhammer, but other than that there is absolutely _nothing_ wrong with me." 

"Obviously," a new voice spoke up from the doorway. Barry froze, feeling ice water trickle down his spine. Dr. Wells wheeled further into the room with his carefully guarded smirk of a smile, one of his hands working the motor on the power chair and the other resting casually in his lap. It was at that moment that Barry realized something was terribly wrong. 

"Oh, no..." He whispered underneath his breath.

"Walk with me." 

"... Yeah." Barry took the split second to grab his sweatshirt from the back of a chair and followed the other man cautiously. When they were alone Dr. Wells slowed, and they stopped next to the balcony railing to look down at the mostly repaired damage to the particle accelerator. All it needed now was a fresh inlay of concrete for the floor and it would be perfect.

"Let me be completely clear Mr. Allen," he said in that soft, calculating voice. "The past three years that you have been in your coma there have been certain... Drastic changes to-"

"Metahumans that are getting away with murder, prison break, bank robberies, etc," Barry sighed. Wells glanced at him sharply, and it was a look that Barry had come to know as him appraising something to determine its potential informational value. 

"You seem to be very well-informed for someone who's been asleep for the past three years."

"Wasn't that long," Barry replied shortly. 

"No. Two years. Eleven months. Nineteen days. To be precise." 

"Naturally." 

"Now what does that mean?" Wells asked. It was more curious than fishing. 

"I read your autobiography," Barry backtracked easily. He knew he had to be careful. And he'd spent a little over two years studying under the best liars. So good that he hadn't even realized he was learning from them. It wasn't difficult to lie to people who could hurt him or his family anymore. "It might have mentioned your... 'Panache for intricate attention to the minutae of detail.' End quote." 

"I gathered from your friends and family that you were much more laid-back and stubbornly optimistic than this," Wells retorted with a smirk, leaning back slightly in his chair. Barry braced his elbows on the balcony railing and stared off into space. 

"Yeah, well... It's not everyday that you wake up to find that the last two and a half years of your life were all a dream."

"What exactly happened in this dream reality? I'm personally curious, as well as interested in the scientific implications it has regarding auditory registration in comatose patients." Barry let out a faint, dry chuckle. 

"Ah... Well. It involved Iris, Joe, Felicity and my other friends in Star City, some of my coworkers, probably a few names that cropped up on the news if the tv was on, Caitlin, Cisco... And you. I... Feel like I got to know you all during my nap." 

"You were brought here because your cells were bombarded with unclassified energy, which mutated them and caused them to generate an unusual amount of energy. This caused your heart rate to speed up, which in turn caused the EKG to fail to register it at all because it was moving too fast. I was able to stabilize you."

"Yeah, how _did_ you do that, exactly?" Barry asked, turning to Wells and crossing his arms with an inquisitive look upon his face. "Scientifically speaking, I'm very interested in the procedures used." Wells' smile was a wry one.

"All in good time. Right now, I imagine that you'll want to see your family." 

"You're completely right." Barry said goodbye to Wells as diplomatically as possible and then went to find Cisco, Caitlin, and Felicity. 

"Hey," Felicity greeted a little worriedly as he walked back into the Cortex. He noted the care package which had been delivered recently lying open on his hospital bed; next to it and obviously from it were a set of clean clothes. "Iris brought this by last time she visited," the blonde continued in her trademark awkward manner. "I like her, by the way. She seems nice."

"Thank you, for approving in my choice of friends other than you," Barry retorted with upbeat sarcasm and a genuinely cheeky smile. He ambled over and pulled off the sweatshirt to put on the tee shirt and jacket. 

"Whoakay," Felicity huffed. "You're not _ripped_ but- soo fit," she ended in a singsongy whisper. 

"That's embarrassing," Cisco laughed. Felicity's closed eyes opened wide in horror. 

"I didn't say that out loud, did I?"

"Kinda did," Caitlin replied with a smile. Barry smirked as the tee shirt slid over his head and settled like a comfortable second skin against his torso. In typical Iris fashion, she had packed his favorite lazy Sunday lounging about the house clothing so that he'd feel at home when he woke up. He grabbed the jeans and underwear and began to walk out of the room. 

"I gotta- you know."

"Oh hey, bathroom's-"

"Down the hall, second on the left!" Barry called back, interrupting Cisco mid-direction-giving. "I got it. Thanks."

"How...?" Cisco asked.

"He's Barry," Felicity replied with a somewhat sympathetic and apologetic smile. "He knows things and you never know how he knows them." 

"Sounds suspiciously like my grandmother," Cisco muttered with a wary glance at the hallway. Dr. Wells wheeled in and Barry reappeared a few moments later, doing the signature hop-skip of someone tying their shoelaces as they are walking. He made it over to a solid surface and braced the red converse against it to finish the process before straightening and flashing everyone a bright smile. It was only somewhat dulled by the fact that no one believed him when he spoke of all of the things that had happened in the past two years. 

"I'm gonna go and see my family," he said as he gathered the care package bag before turning to Felicity. "I've got a feeling that you have a train to catch, so... Care to join me?" Felicity smiled and linked her arm through his as they walked out of the Cortex. 

"Why thank you. Makes a girl feel special to be escorted to her carriage." Barry laughed, then turned back to Caitlin and Cisco. 

"I'll see you guys later. That's a promise." 

"All right," Caitlin acknowledged with a faint smile. Cisco just popped a Tootsie Roll into his mouth and grinned, giving Barry a thumbs up. It was a quiet walk to the train station, and they were entering the platform when Felicity finally spoke. 

"How did you know about Oliver and Me?" She asked. "Or Diggle and his daughter? Thea? _Palmer,_ who you've never actually met before?" 

"I already told you how," Barry said, dead serious and almost pleading as he looked into her eyes. "Believe me, please. Something is wrong here. Certain things have happened. Everything has played out exactly as I saw it play out, except I'm not there."

"As a superhero that fights crime using super speed," Felicity reminded dubiously. "Barry, your story- it just-"

"It's okay," he sighed. "I know it's nuts. But that doesn't make it false." 

"You really mean that, don't you?" She said softly. Barry nodded.

"I do. Which makes me one of two things. One: I'm just mental and should be committed to a psychiatric ward."

"And... What's option two?"

"I'm right." 

"This is my train," Felicity announced suddenly as it pulled into the station. She boarded and found a seat, glancing at Barry out of the window. He was still standing on the platform, watching it when it pulled out. 


	3. 2

Barry paused in front of the door of the West residence, _his_ residence, and debated on whether or not he should knock. He was beginning to freak out a little because he'd tried running home and found that, while he was definitely in prime physical condition to apply for the Olympics as a track runner, he was by no means able to even touch the speeds he'd reached when he was just tentatively taking his first steps into a long career of being a superhero. His lack of confidence won out, and he hastily rapped his knuckles against the door. There was the sound of movement and voices inside, and shadows appeared on the drawn curtains as someone came to the door. Barry's stomach churned when he saw that it was Joe, because even though he remembered seeing the man only the day before it had been just under three years for his foster father, and some of that emotional upheaval had transferred itself into Barry in the form of anticipation. Joe blinked a couple of times, just standing in the doorway for a few moments without saying or doing anything. Iris' voice filtered out onto the porch from the living room.

"Dad, who is it?" He suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Barry in the tightest hug he had ever experienced in his entire life, which was saying something considering all of the narrow scrapes they'd survived and hugged out afterward in relief that everyone was still alive.

"Oh, I missed you kid," he choked. Barry buried his face in Joe's shoulder and let out a long sigh. After waking up in an alternate reality that was just all _wrong_ it was comforting to have contact with the significant father figure presence in his life. It felt like something solid was there again to cling on to even if the entire world was ending. 

"I missed you too," Barry murmured back. Iris, catching his voice, abruptly got up from the couch and came over. She practically pried her father off of him to get at him, and Barry found himself suddenly sprawling on the boards of the porch deck as she threw herself at him with such joyous ferocity that he lost his balance and they both tipped backwards. 

"Why didn't S.T.A.R. Labs call us?" She exclaimed. Once Barry caught his breath he answered. 

"I asked them not to," he wheezed. "I wanted it to be a surprise." 

"Should you even be up and around?" Joe asked sharply, parental concern kicking in. 

"Nah, it's fine," Barry brushed off casually. "I jogged here from the train station after seeing Felicity off." 

"You're kidding right?" Iris scoffed. 

"No, I did. Took a while, but you know." 

"But you hate jogging," She pointed out. Barry shrugged, unable to suppress the most ironic smirk ever to ironic as he did so. He quickly got back on his feet and helped Iris up after, brushing himself off to get rid of some of the dust and odd leaf or two that were sticking to him. 

"You hungry?" Joe asked as they ventured back into the house. 

"Starving," Barry replied with a laugh as he set the care package bag down on the edge of the couch. As Iris passed by he whispered, "thank you." She smiled and then disappeared into the kitchen. 

"Well good, because I made the mistake of letting Iris try out a new recipe and we ended up with, like, five baking dishes of ravioli casserole."

"How is that even a bad thing?" Iris protested from the kitchen. Joe indicated that Barry sit down as he grabbed an extra place setting for the table, and by the time he'd got back Iris was coming out with the food. They all heaped it onto their plates as if they weren't certain they'd ever eat again, and Barry suddenly worried about the condition of his metabolism before deciding that he wasn't going to worry about anything else for the rest of the night. 

"So... Barry," Iris began mischievously. "I bet you've got a lot of questions about the stuff you missed while you were sleeping." Barry thought a moment, understanding that it wasn't the time to tell them about his experiences. 

"Doesn't look like a whole lot's changed," he replied carefully. "Give me the highlights." 

"Well, we've got metahumans now," she began. Barry nodded, registering no surprise. Iris took this to mean that that had already been explained to him. "And 2015. They came out with a Hoverboard but it was still on wheels, so... And then they were having problems with it catching on fire and, yeah, catastrophe." Barry laughed. "Um... Oh! Your apartment building kind of exploded during a Metahuman attack, but we'd already brought the important things over here."

"You're welcome to camp out in your old room till you find somewhere new," Joe offered. 

"Thanks, I appreciate it." 

"By the way, Singh's been trying to find a long-term replacement for you but only ends up with college kids or guys nearing the end of their retirement and none of them have done exceptionally well at CSI-ing so I'm pretty sure when you show up at the CCPD he'll beg you to come back."

"Mm. Job security," Barry replied as he scraped some of the casserole onto his fork and then into his mouth. 

"Night the Particle Accelerator went Chernobyl Clyde Mardon shot and killed Chyre," Iris updated after swallowing a mouthful. "Remember Eddie Thawne? He became dad's new partner."

"And then I now have yet another new one because he ended up transferring all the way to New York City," Joe sighed. 

"We actually dated for a little while," Iris admitted. "But the distance killed it." 

"Oh, I'm sorry," Barry murmured sympathetically. He was at once relieved that he didn't have to go through being the odd man out and competing, while at the same time depressed because they had become good friends and he had actually found himself looking forward to seeing him.

"New partner's name is Mya Insom," Joe continued after unhinging his clenched jaw. "She's okay, I guess."

"Wait- wait," Barry interrupted. "Insom. Why does that sound familiar?" 

"She did that case that involved the exploding gerbil." 

"Right... That's not one I'll be forgetting anytime soon."

"It was certainly memorable," Joe agreed. 

"Exploding gerbil?" Iris questioned. 

"I'll let Barry explain it to you later," Joe laughed. "He's much better at telling it. Just not now. I'm eating." 

"Yes sir," she replied back sarcastically. Barry waited a few minutes after the table had fallen into comfortable silence while everyone took a moment to continue eating and then spoke cautiously. 

"What about Wally?" He asked. They both froze, and there was a clang as Iris dropped her fork onto her plate. 

"How do you know about him?" Joe asked; he'd been given a good shock at the unexpected name drop. Barry tread carefully. 

"Uh, while I was in my coma-"

"So coma patients actually _can_ hear you when you're talking," Iris finished. Barry nodded.

"Yeah. I'm guessing you talked about him a lot. Sorry about your mom, by the way." Iris and Joe were still staring at him incredulously. 

"Uh- Wally's a student at CCU," Joe stammered. "He just left for the new semester." 

"He went with me a couple of times when I visited you," Iris stated. "He kept saying he was looking forward to actually meeting you."

"Wally's persistence that you _would_ wake up came around just at the right time," Joe explained. "We were... Beginning to wonder if _when_ should be changed to _if_."

"Well I'm looking forward to meeting him," Barry stated sincerely. Iris and Joe looked immensely relieved, and then Iris became incredibly curious. 

"So when you say you heard everything while you were in your coma..." She said meaningfully. Barry smirked. 

"Yes, I heard you talking about 'Detective Pretty Boy' and your job at the CCPN. Congratulations, by the way." 

"Thanks. I started writing about the metahumans on a blog I started and they liked what I wrote, so I got the job." Her expression took on a thoughtful note. "It's kind of ironic that you've spent your whole life chasing the impossible, and when it finally happens you're asleep for most of it."

"Story of my life," Barry sighed. She seemed to sense that it was a sore subject for him because she changed the topic. 

"You said you walked Felicity to the train station?" 

"Yeah."

"I like her," Iris approved. "I really do. There was another guy who came in from time to time, just not as often. I think he was former military or something. John De-Di, um..."

"Diggle, Yeah," Barry offered helpfully with a smile. "He's kinda awesome." 

"I liked him," Joe replied. "I think he was the only other person in the room who didn't understand any of the technical mumbo jumbo being thrown about and didn't mind saying so." 

"So are you free, or?"

"I've got some tests they want to run before I'm in the clear," Barry said, answering Iris' question. "Just routine. Should pass with flying colors."

"Well, _after_ you do you can return to work," Joe stated definitively. "And not a moment before. You hear me?" Barry nodded and smiled. 


	4. 3

Barry was sitting on the steps of the porch watching the street when Iris stepped out the door with two mugs of hot cocoa to join him. 

"Thanks," he sighed as he took one; she seemed to have broken off a long and complicated line of thought. 

"What's bothering you?" She asked. He smiled. 

"If I told you, you'd say I was crazy," he said simply. 

"Care to try?" She needled. Barry glanced up at the starry night sky and debated with himself for a few moments. 

"Not tonight. I don't really want to worry you, since I've just got back."

"Considerate," Iris applauded. "But unnecessary. Come on. If you can't tell me who can you tell?" 

"I think I'm gonna go see my dad before the tests tomorrow," Barry decided, changing the subject. Iris sighed, accepting defeat on this occasion.

"I visited a couple of times to update him about your condition. He really isn't taking it very well. Seeing you up and about will do him a world of good." She sat on the steps next to him and he threw his arm around her shoulders. 

"Thanks for looking out for him," he murmured. 

"No problem." Iris was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "You know, when you were in your coma nobody at S.T.A.R. Labs could tell us if you'd have any brain damage when you woke up. All they'd say was that you were recovering well, which basically meant there weren't any problems but you just weren't waking up. It was really difficult for us. When Wally showed up it was harder, because- I mean, he _is_ my brother after all- and I took it okay, but I don't think my dad was ready for another son with you the way you were." Iris laughed. "I kinda feel bad for Wally. He spent the better part of two months listening to us talk about something funny you said or did. I think he got fed up. That was when I asked if he wanted to tag along next time I went to see you. Then he understood why. You'd already been through so much with your mom and your dad, and then you end up getting struck by lightning and falling into a coma. I think he kind of admires you," she ended with a playful smile. 

"Nice to be appreciated," Barry remarked with a playful smile of his own. "He's in engineering, right?" 

"Yeah. He's got some sort of super car he wants to build. Probably like a few pointers if you've got any."

"... Not sure that's the best idea..."

"You guys can bond over science stuff," Iris exclaimed. "Of course it's a good idea." Barry sighed. 

"Fine. You win." 

"Hey, you two!" Joe called through the open window. "I'm putting my foot down tonight and giving you a bedtime. You just woke up from a coma, no staying up late. Shift it."

"But I slept for the better part of two years!" Barry complained, arching a mischievous eyebrow at Iris. She laughed. "Five more minutes."

"In." 

"You're not going to win this one," She commented. 

"Guess not," Barry groaned as he stood up. He gave Iris a quick hug. "Night, Iris."

"Night, Barry."

<^•¥•^>

Barry sat in the Visitor's Area in one of the booths as his father was brought in on the other side. When Henry Allen saw his son he couldn't be cleared quickly enough, and his hand was trembling when he picked up the phone. Barry, having already lived through this reunion once, knew how it was going to play out but still couldn't bring himself to get over the fact that his father was alive in this timeline. His death still hurt so, _so_ much in his real- or, supposedly fantasy- life. 

"Hey dad," he managed to choke out. His father was crying.

"Hey slugger," he whispered hoarsely back. "When'd you wake up?"

"Yesterday. I still have to go take some tests in about half an hour, but I'm fine."

"They were worried about lasting brain damage," Henry said worriedly. 

"I'm fine," Barry repeated firmly. Henry slumped back into his chair with a sigh of relief and didn't bother trying to mask his joyful tears. 

"I was so scared for you," he finally replied at last. "If I'd have lost you... I don't know if I could have gone on living." Barry felt the words catch in the back of his throat.

"I don't die easy." 

"No, no you don't," Henry laughed softly. Barry's cell phone began ringing, but he ignored it. It stopped, then started again. "Looks like someone's trying to get your attention." 

"Yeah." Barry glanced at the number, saw that it was Cisco's, and sighed softly in exasperation. "It's Cisco. He's probably calling about the tests. I'd better take this." Henry nodded and waited patiently, watching his son talk on the phone through the glass before picking up the reciever again. "Sorry about that." 

"I get it. So what's the story?" Barry leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face tiredly. 

"They want me to tack on a psych eval to the already extensive list of tests," he muttered. 

"A psych eval?" Henry asked. "Why?" 

"Ooh... It probably has something to do with dreaming up a substitute reality based on auditory perceptions from real life during my coma," Barry groaned. "They're interested in exactly what type of reality I dreamed up and how much of it corresponds to information I picked up when people talked to me." Henry gazed at his son with infathomable adoration and pride, as well as a heavy dose of wonder. 

"Well," he finally said after a long pause, "You'd better not keep them waiting." Barry considered for a few moments before giving a reluctant nod. 

"I'll be back to see you soon," he promised as he stood to leave. "I love you, dad."

"Love you too, son." Barry heard the receiver click in place and paused in the doorway to watch the guards escort his father back to his cell, heart heavy before leaving. That was what plagued him, day in and day out. If his father were still in prison he would be alive today. Except it wasn't really living, so what was the point? Barry pinched the bridge of his nose and rifled around in his coat pocket for a granola bar, snacking on it as he exited Iron Heights. He was being incredibly careful about his caloric intake at the present moment, not sure just how efficient it actually was. He polished it off and then jogged to S.T.A.R. Labs, slowing to a walk periodically when he began to feel out of breath. It was a new experience for him, and he hated it but knew it was better than his physical aptitude before the accident. It was way more practical to call a cab or catch a bus, but he wanted to be alone with his thoughts more than anything at the moment.

"When did you get here?" Cisco yelped as Barry peered over his shoulder to see what he was doing on the computer. 

"A couple minutes ago," Barry replied casually. "So how's your day been so far?" 

"Fine." 

"Oh, good! You're here. We can get started," Caitlin said enthusiastically as she entered the Cortex. 

"Where's Dr. Wells?" Barry asked, wanting to know where he was but relieved that he wasn't there. 

"Out," Cisco explained as he closed down the MMORPG he'd been playing. "That's all he'd tell us." 

"Ready to begin?" Caitlin asked, disappearing into one of the adjacent rooms and reappearing with a box full of wires and sensors. Barry groaned, but nodded. 

"Let me guess," he sighed. "Treadmill."

"Easiest way to get a good look at multiple systems all at the same time." 

"I just ran all the way here though," he complained as he accepted the gym clothes Cisco presented him and went to change. "Should've taken the bus."

"You _ran_ all the way here!?" Cisco said incredulously. 

"Mmhm. From Iron Heights visiting my dad." 

"... You're dad's in prison?" Caitlin asked quietly. Barry nodded. 

"I don't want to go over that again right now."

" _Again??_ Come again?" Cisco muttered. Barry trudged over to the treadmill- a _regular_ treadmill- and stood on it impatiently as Caitlin attached all the sensors. She then gave him the go-ahead to start running, and he took off. Some part of him was still desperately hoping that he'd hit his new limit and then continue past, maybe break the treadmill and generate some lightning. After a little while Caitlin told him to stop. 

"That's good, Barry. I think we've got everything we need." Barry slowed to a halt, slightly angry with himself for being out of breath. 

"These stats are impressive," Cisco commented distractedly as he scrolled through the data. "Physically speaking man, you're a-okay." 

" _Psychologically,_ however..." Caitlin remarked pointedly. 

"I swear I'm not making any of it up," Barry defended, bristling slightly. "I mean, come on. If you can have people controlling the weather and Gorillas with mind control, then what's so hard about believing that somebody could move faster than the speed of sound?"

"Oh, that's not what we're skeptical about," Cisco hastened to clarify. Barry stared at him for a few moments, exasperated.

"The alternate timeline," he finally sighed. 

"Yeah. That and the fact that I'm obviously not a Metahuman."

"Looks can be deceiving..." Barry whispered so quietly that neither of them heard. 

"And while your body shows signs of mutation at the cellular level, there isn't anything out of the ordinary about it."

"Could you repeat that again?" Barry asked suddenly, intrigued. Caitlin looked at him quizzically, but obliged.

"Your cells have undergone some mutation as a result of the dark matter and lightning strike, and you have the meta gene, but-"

"But they're normal?"

"... Yes. Well within the range, anyway."

"That's... Interesting." 

"I'm just going to attach these sensors to your head, okay?" Cisco said gently as he placed one on Barry's neck. Barry sighed in defeat and gave up trying to convince them until he'd figured out how it had all happened in the first place. 


	5. 4

Barry hesitated outside of the Central City Picture News, watching Iris typing away at her computer through the large windows. She was really into whatever article she was currently writing, and it seemed wrong to interrupt her in the middle of a brainstorm. She presently seemed to become aware of someone watching her, and looking up warily through the window she spotted Barry and smiled. He would have smiled back, but he couldn't bring himself to pretend to be a little ray of sunshine at the moment. Iris noticed this and saved whatever she was working on before getting up and leaving.

"I'm sorry to bother you," Barry immediately apologized as she met him outside on the sidewalk. "You looked like you were really into whatever it was you were writing about." 

"That's okay," Iris assured casually. "I was working overtime anyway. Work ended-"

"About half an hour ago. I know."

"You seem to know a lot about a lot of things for someone who's been in a coma for the past three years." 

"... Yeah. That's... Kinda what I want to talk to you about." 

"Well I think we should go to Jitters for this," Iris stated matter-of-factly. "I have a feeling this conversation requires high-calorie pastry and caffeine."

"You presume correctly." 

"See, that? That right there tells me something's off with you. You'd never say that unless you were trying to be funny to lighten the mood." When Barry didn't respond she added, "Okay. So which will it be: passenger or pedestrian?" 

"I'd rather walk," Barry decided without hesitation. "It's only twelve blocks."

"Very funny." 

"It'll give us a chance to talk," he sighed. "I find that I think better when I'm moving." 

"Since when?"

"Nine months after the particle accelerator exploded." 

<^•¥•^>

Iris leaned back in her chair and cradled her mug thoughtfully as Barry finally finished his detailed story (although he'd left out the developments in their relationship to avoid any serious, awkward, and unnecessary tension). It had taken him the better part of two hours to do it, and he was sitting in the chair opposite her with his knees drawn up against his chest and his mug of coffee balanced expertly on one, forgotten. He'd barely touched it. 

"... Wow." Was all she could think to say. 

"Yeah."

"I just- I can't-"

"You can't... What?" Barry asked, like a small child hoping for compassion and understanding. Iris eyed him with a cheeky smirk, looking him up and down.

"I can't even begin to picture you in a skin-tight red leather suit," she finished mischieviously. Barry groaned. 

"So out of everything I've told you, that was the only thing that really registered?" He asked pathetically. She laughed. 

"No. I mean," she added, becoming serious, "what can I say? What do you _expect_ me to say? It's- I mean, you said it yourself. It's crazy. Nuts. Why anyone would even begin to think that any of it was real-" she broke off at the crestfallen look on his face, as if all of his hopes had been trampled and then diced into a million pieces. 

"You don't believe me either," he grumbled, defeated. "You were my last chance."

"I still am," Iris protested, lunging forward and grabbing his hand before beginning to comfortingly caress the back of it as she spoke. "I'm not saying I don't believe you. I know that _you_ think that it's real, if nothing else. And isn't that better than saying that you're not playing with a full deck?"

"... I guess..." 

"I'm willing to keep an open mind, if you can show me something to convince me." Barry looked lost. 

"Better than nothing." He glanced at the long shadows in the street as the lights came on in the city, transitioning from day into night as the dusk did. Everything was awash in a purple undertone. "We'd better go home."

"Taking the bus," Iris interjected quickly. "I have heels on. You don't. You don't know the agony." She finally succeeded in getting Barry to smile, which she counted as a personal victory. 

"Lead the way." They exited Jitters in silence and were passing an alley when a group of men and women who had been lounging innocently against the side of a building shoved them into it. The movement was so sudden and unexpected that they were powerless to object to it until it was too late to resist, and then they became focused on getting out of the mess as quickly as possible. Barry had instinctively brought himself in between the ruffians and Iris; it was just so ingrained into him. 

"Money. Now." It was one of the girls. 

"How about no?" Iris spat. 

"Fine. I'm looking forward to a bit of a fight anyway," one of the guys laughed. He drew out a knife and twirled it expertly between long, thin fingers. All it took was his initial lunge; Barry was grabbing his wrist, twisting it, and kneeing him as hard as he could in the ribs. Pure muscle memory- psychological memory, whichever one- guided his actions with an amazing degree of fluiditity and accuracy which is only achieved through repetitive practice as he dodged and weaved, kicked off walls, blocked, and disarmed in the narrow space of the alley with Iris behind him and the mob in the throes of chaos directly before. 

"CCPD!" Barry shouted, whipping his CSI identification out of his pocket and made to go for a concealed and nonexistent sidearm. The ruse worked like a charm. 

"Forget it, scram! It ain't worth it!" One of the guys yelped as he stumbled back out into the busy twilight street with his pack close behind. When they were gone Barry leaned against a wall and felt gingerly at his split lower lip, wincing when he blinked at what would certainly be a black eye by tomorrow morning. He was panting slightly, but for the most part unharmed. 

"Barry?" Iris called tentatively. He turned to look at her whilst flexing his right hand and feeling the blows he'd landed in his fingers and wrist. 

"You okay?" He asked. She nodded mutely, slowly coming over to stand in front of him and rifling around in her purse for something. She finally brought out a few spare napkins and handed them to him. 

"What..?"

"You've got a nosebleed." 

"Oh. Right." Barry applied the napkins and groaned slightly when he felt along the bridge of his nose, as there was a definitive cut that he'd got from a man with a ring throwing a wild punch. The blow was what had precipitated the nosebleed. "Ow." 

"We need to go home," Iris stated. She hadn't moved from where she was standing directly in front of him, and wide brown eyes were staring searchingly into his own light blue ones. "I'll call a cab." Barry just nodded and followed her out to the curb, where he ignored the scrutiny of several of the passerby when they saw what had happened to his face. When they were finally in the cab they sat in silence for most of the way, but eventually Iris spoke again in a quiet whisper. 

"All those things... They really happened to you, didn't they?"

"Yeah." 

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I don't know. But I'm hoping you can help me find out."

"Of course I will. What else are friends for?"

"Rescuing other friends."

"That was amazing."

"You should see me when I'm doing it at 500 miles per hour," Barry joked wryly. "If you can even see me when I'm going that fast." 

"Friends are for... Buying other friends ice cream when they have a split lip."

"You're on." 


	6. 5

Joe kept glancing at Barry the entire time they were in the elevator when he thought his foster son wasn't looking. He was. He was just too polite to say anything about it. He was sporting a fading black eye, faint and freshly healed cut over the bridge of his nose, and shallow split to his lower lip. At least his healing factor wasn't _completely_ conked out. That was something.

There were exclamations of surprise and shock when they walked into the Precinct of the CCPD, but they were more elated-sounding than gossip-like. Barry smiled. He'd been missed. One detective in particular threw down a stack of folders and punched the air triumphantly before racing up to Barry and hugging him. 

"Yes! Yesyesyesyesyesyesyes!" She exclaimed. "You're back! We don't have to deal with Selders anymore! _Yes!_ " 

"I don't-"

"-Know me? Yeah. Sorry. I get a little carried away sometimes. My name's Patty. We haven't actually met before, but I kept hearing about your efficiency as CSI and Selders is just- well, he's not. So they'd better- wait, you're coming back to work here right? Please say yes."

"Detective Spivot!" Captain Singh called from the door to his office. "Give CSI Allen some breathing room, will ya!" He then added almost as if it were an afterthought: "Good to have you back."

"Thanks, Captain!" Barry replied. By saying "CSI Allen" Singh had offhandedly told him that he was already re-employed. 

"Barry!" Joe called him over once Patty had let him go. "I'd like to introduce you to my new part- so we lost Chyre on-"

"-The night the Particle Accelerator exploded," Barry finished. "Shot by Clyde Mardon. Then you had Eddie but he transferred to New York City."

"Iris fill you in on the specifics?" Joe asked, impressed. 

"Something like that."

"Well, this is my new partner," Joe began again. He motioned with his arm to a woman with golden eyes and light sandy blonde hair. She extended her hand in greeting, and he shook it hesitantly. Something was... Just off about this lady. 

"I'm Detective Insom," she introduced. "Mya. Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." There were a few moments of awkward silence before Barry cleared his throat and turned to Joe. 

"I'm almost afraid to go up to my lab."

"Don't be," he said dismissively. "Nobody was ever here long enough to really settle in. Most you'll have to do is evict a cactus or two."

"Why didn't they stay very long?" Barry asked as they walked the steps up to the lab. 

"Singh kept terminating them. Had something to do with, and I quote, "sloppy work ethic and lack of organization," but honestly I think he was waiting for you to come back and didn't want to hire them on past their trial period. Although-"

"I quit!" A balding man exclaimed as he flew out the door of the lab with a box of sparse personal items. He handed Joe a folder as he swept by. "Officer, give this to your lieutenant, be sure to express my feelings on these completely unreasonable deadlines."

"Yes, I'll be sure to tell _Captain_ Singh that you ordered one of his _Detectives_ to make a paper run for you, Selders." The man huffed and continued toward the lobby. 

"I'm not gonna miss that man at all," Joe remarked as they walked into the crime lab and he slapped the folder down onto the table. For the most part, he'd been right. Barry took a cursory glance about the space but didn't find any shocking rearrangements. It was eerily as he'd left it, if he was being honest. There was a stack of fresh case files sitting in the basket on his desk waiting to be investigated and expanded.

"Nobody's expecting those to be done by the end of the week, by the way," Joe assured him. Barry smirked. 

"They'll be on Singh's desk by the end of today," he promised before dropping his backpack against a column and laying his forensics kit in its place on one of the numerous counters. Joe shook his head in mild exasperation and left to work on a case of his own. When he was gone and Barry had finished putting things back into their proper place he took the case files and spread them out on the big table in the center of the room, then took a sheet of paper and a pen and began classifying the tests and analyses needed for each into groups: fibers, prints, blood, etc, etc, and then into subcategories of what test methods would be needed for each. It was an efficient organizational system, and it allowed him to do multiple all at the same time. His speed might have been gone, but he'd trained his mind to multitask and he hadn't lost that ability. 

Iris came in amidst all this activity about midday. She took one look at what was going on and sighed. 

"Well I _was_ going to ask if you wanted to stop for lunch, but it looks like we'll have to raincheck." Barry glanced up from analyzing a tire track and smiled. 

"Take a look in that paper bag on my desk," he suggested before returning to it. Iris frowned and did as she was told, pulling out Chinese. 

"Ooh..." 

"You're welcome."

"Mind reader."

"Deja vu." Iris pulled up a stool and sat opposite him, using a pair of chopsticks to eat almond boneless while she eyed his progress curiously. 

"So, how much do you have done yet?" She asked.

"Oh... About a third. I'm waiting on a few tests that take a bit longer, and I can't do anything else until they're done, so-" 

" _So,"_ Iris broke in meaningfully, "you have time to actually enjoy lunch." She tossed him a box which contained chow mein. " _Enjoy._ "

"I give," he chuckled as he grabbed the box and began eating it with a healthy appetite. 

"Just how efficient _is_ your metabolism now?" Iris asked curiously. 

"As near as I can figure, it's about... Twice as efficient as a regular person's," he replied. "Nothing too drastic." An alarm dinged and he checked on what it was. "Mmm. That'll be the Mass Spec." 

"No rest for the weary, huh?" Iris asked sympathetically as Barry put down the box of chow mein and went to collect. 

"I can multitask."

"I can see," she remarked, making a sweeping gesture at the cluttered forensics lab. "You know you've only been back half a day and the place is already trashed?"

"They say organization in the midst of chaos is a sign of true genius," Barry retorted cheekily. 

"Well I hope true genius doesn't mind another case," Joe needled snarkily as he entered with another file. "Convenience store robbery. Twelve packs of Hubba Bubba and a Cherry Dr. Pepper."

"Life goals," Iris snorted. 

"Perp made good," Barry pointed out. "Otherwise I wouldn't be processing... Prints, looks like."

"Among other things." Joe took a cursory glance about the lab. "I see you wasted no time in settling back in. Any progress?"

"Plenty," Barry replied distractedly as he filled out the chain of custody on the samples he was to be testing and then began work on the findings made with the mass spectrometer. Joe opened his mouth to say something, then obviously seemed to think better of it and left without another word. Barry and Iris watched him go with curious expressions on their faces.

"Now what was that about?" Iris asked.

"Beats me," Barry replied as he grabbed the chow mein and took a big mouthful before diving in to the evidence again. 

<^•¥•^>

It was well after Barry's work shift had ended that he actually left, and he paused at the bottom of the stairs to see the light still on in Singh's office. It was the graveyard shift already, which meant that he was probably wrapping something up before going home. 

Barry rapped his knuckles on the door frame to his office. Singh looked up distractedly.

"Oh, hey Allen. Thought you'd gone home already."

"Wanted to get these done," Barry replied as he dropped the stack of files onto his captain's desk. Singh looked at it with wide eyes before looking at his CSI.

"How...? _Jeez_ , that was fast." 

"There wasn't much left for me to do," Barry admitted modestly. 

"Yeah, yeah. Fair enough. It's just- what you had left to do would have taken Selders at _least_ another two weeks," Singh rationalized. 

"I'm clocking out," Barry announced as he began to leave. He paused in the doorway when Singh called him back.

"Good to have you back, Allen." Barry smiled.

"Good to be back, Captain." 


	7. 6

"Hello?" Barry answered his phone groggily, glancing at his clock which read 3:47am. 

_"Hey Barry. I was wondering if you could use your unique insight into metahumans and science stuff to help me track down a lead..."_

"Iris, it is almost four in the morning. Couldn't this wait until after dawn?"

_"By then it'll be too late,"_ Iris retorted pleadingly.

"No. Go to sleep."

_"Please? I could really use your help."_

"Let me sleep."

_"It might have something to do with what happened to you."_ The carrot dangled tantalizingly from the fishing rod. 

"... Give me five minutes." 

_"Great! See you soon."_ The phone clicked off and Barry slumped back into bed with a morose grumble before sighing and throwing back the covers. The room was unexpectedly chilly, and he shuddered in his tank top and shorts as he rifled around for a pair of at least semi-clean jeans and a jacket to put on. He was just finishing up tying his shoes when Iris' car pulled up in front of the house, tires making a gravelly sound as they braked to a halt. Barry sprinted out the door into the passenger seat, great billowing clouds of steam coming out of his mouth as he breathed. He was still arguing with his gloves as Iris started the car back up and blasted the heater on full.

"It's freezing," Barry complained, teeth chattering. Iris smirked with some degree of sympathy.

"Well it _is_ almost Christmas," she pointed out. 

"So where are we going?" 

"S.T.A.R. Labs."

"Why?"

"Because something's going on over there and I want to find out what it is." 

"And this couldn't wait until later in the morning?" Barry remarked skeptically. He grunted and dug his fingernails into the upholstery of the seat, frantically searching for his seatbelt as Iris floored it. "Was that really necessary?" 

"No. But it was fun."

"Ugh..." 

"And anyway, I wanted to do it this early because that way no one will be around to catch us." 

"What are you expecting to find?" 

"I don't know," Iris admitted. "But I just keep thinking that all of this is tied somehow to Harrison Wells. Even if he wasn't directly responsible, whatever caused this was a metahuman. And since his Particle Accelerator _created_ metahumans-"

"You're hoping he keeps a record on the people affected," Barry realized slowly. 

"Yeah. Have any idea where he'd keep something like that?" 

"A few."

"Well, if you can get past the security putting your CSI skills to the opposite use they were intended for, we can get in and out without anyone even noticing we were there." 

"... Or I could just use the pin code that they haven't changed in like, forever," Barry pointed out quietly. There was a pause in the conversation.

"Or we could do that and not commit a felony," Iris agreed. She suddenly screeched to a halt and backed into an alley before shutting off the engine.

"What are you doing!?" Barry exclaimed. 

"Shh!" Iris hissed. "Just watch." A patrol car came idling down the street, making slow passes. They were obviously canvassing the area. After what seemed like an eternity it continued on down the road, and Iris let out a long, heavy breath. She hadn't dared breathe the entire time it had been happening. Cautiously she restarted the engine, killing the lights and pulling very slowly out of the alley back onto the main stretch. They continued on to S.T.A.R. Labs.

"Why-" Barry began, but Iris cut him off.

"Curfew," she explained. "The meta attacks got so bad that, two months ago, the police commissioner issued a city-wide curfew. Unless you're a paramedic, fireman, police officer, or have special permission, you're supposed to be off the streets by 11:00. Since you're CSI I technically count you as police, but I'd rather not take chances."

"This is crazy," Barry muttered as they pulled into the service drive of S.T.A.R. Labs and parked by the loading docks. "I can't believe that everything- I mean, just because I wasn't-" he gave up trying to finish his own sentences and stared out the windshield miserably. Iris flashed him a sympathetic look before braving the outdoors. They shuffled through the biting wind which had sprung up over to the door, and Barry punched in the security code onto the keypad. The red light turned green and they were granted access with a click as it unlocked. 

"It's warm in here," Iris commented quietly. 

"Cisco hates winter," Barry remarked pointedly as he navigated the darkness with little difficulty; this was, after all, familiar territory to him. "He cranks the thermostat up to near-tropical temperatures and sits back all cozy while everyone else sweats."

"Noted." They reached the elevator and the heat got to be too much. 

"I don't even know what to say about the humidity," Iris huffed as she shed her thick winter jacket. Barry nodded in agreement as he took his off too, and for a moment she just stared at him.

"What?" 

"You're kinda- kinda _toned_ there," Iris managed to choke out awkwardly as she pressed the button a few more times in impatience. Barry stared at her confused, before glancing at his tank top- which clearly showed his sturdy arm and shoulder muscles- and then he smirked. 

"I know."

"What are we looking for again?" She coughed as they stepped out into a hallway. Barry took her hand in his and led the way to a section of wall panel which looked exactly like any other. He hesitated for just a few seconds before pressing his hand to it. The wall parted into different seamed bars to reveal and opening, and then they were entering the time vault with its weirdly designed Braille-like textured walls. 

"What...?"

"Hello, Barry Allen," a woman's voice suddenly said out of the darkness as soft blue lighting came on. Gideon's holographic interface materialized in the center of the room.

"Hey, Gideon. I was wondering if Dr. Wells kept any files on the metahumans he created."

"Are you looking for one specifically?" Gideon asked as Iris watched, wide-eyed. Barry thought a few moments before replying. 

"I need anything on metas who can alter and manipulate time," he said at last. 

"One moment... I'm sorry, Mr. Allen. I was not able to find any metahumans matching that description."

"What about a name?" Iris suddenly asked, having an epiphany. "Dreamscape. That's what the press calls him. Her. Whoever they are." 

"There is very little on 'Dreamscape,' I'm afraid," Gideon apologized. "All that has been collected is already in the published news." 

"Could you scan me and try to figure out why I don't have my speed anymore?" Barry inquired hopefully. Gideon nodded approvingly; two beams of light seemed to arc from her "eyes" and travel up and down the length of his entire body before fading.

"It will take quite a long time to fully process this data," she explained. 

"Can you call me when you've completed it?"

"Of course."

"Thanks." As Barry and Iris were about to leave the room he paused. "Oh, and Gideon? Don't tell Dr. Wells that we were in here." 

"Of course."

"So what was that all about?" Iris asked as she slipped into her jacket before going outside. 

"Dr. Wells time traveled back from the twenty-third century," Barry explained as he pushed open the door. They both winced at the sudden drop in temperature and were even less enthused to see that it had started snowing. "Gideon is an artificial intelligence... Or close to. If anybody or anything can figure out what's wrong with me, she can." The engine started with a reluctant splutter and Iris flicked on the lights and windshield wipers. "Anyway, why'd you ask her about somebody named Dreamscape? I've never heard of this person before."

"Dreamscape is a metahuman that can manipulate time," Iris clarified. "They've committed multiple robberies, but every single time it's happened the people on watch only thought they were experiencing a dream. It wasn't until much later that they would discover they'd been vandalized. Which brings me to another question. Why didn't _you_ think it was all just a dream?"

"I'm somewhat immune to mind control and the affects of time travel," Barry explained. "My brain thinks too quickly for a telepath to fully get in my head and mess with it so it gives me a chance to resist, and I'm able to travel in time without a capsule because I run so fast that I break the boundaries of space-time. Combine both of those together, and the illusion Dreamscape tried to impress on me just didn't stick." 

"... That's pretty cool," Iris stated after a few moments. "Uh oh." 

"Patrol spotted us?"

"Yeah." Red and blue lights flashed behind them as they slowed to a halt in a fast-growing snow drift. "Get out your CSI I.D."

"What are you two doing out here?" Officer Vukovitch asked as Iris rolled the window down, flinching as a flurry of snowflakes whisked into the car. 

"Made an errand to the hardware store," Iris explained quietly, pointing at the pipes which happened to be in the back seat. 

"Uh huh. And that couldn't have waited until curfew ends at 5:00?"

"Nope. But I've got Barry with me," Iris justified, pointing. Barry smiled apologetically, trying to come up with a valid excuse.

"Sink's leaking."

"Yeah. The sink," Iris echoed. Vukovitch eyed them with great skepticism, despite their best innocent expressions. 

"You do know that all the hardware stores in the immediate area have been closed for the past five hours, right?" He asked. Iris and Barry exchanged a glance before turning back to him.

"... Oops?" 


	8. 7

Detective Insom was boredly filing her nails as Joe paced back and forth in front of his two very sheepish-looking kids. Finally he stopped and sighed, exasperated. 

"What am I going to do with you two?" He muttered.

"Sorry dad," Iris apologized. 

"It was my fault," Barry added quickly. "I didn't realize that there was a curfew in effect, so I went to go get the tools and material needed to fix the sink in the kitchen-"

"Because I forgot," Iris chirped helpfully.

"And so I took the bus to go and then had no way of getting back home," Barry continued. 

"My apartment wasn't far away, so when he called to ask where everybody went I decided I'd just drive him back and camp out in my old room."

"Why didn't he just stay at your apartment instead?" Joe asked. 

"Because the heating's out," Iris explained. "I was more than happy to go over to your place. I mean, it was twelve degrees in my bedroom."

"Yikes," Mya commented. "So... Where'd you go for the other five hours in between?" Iris opened her mouth to reply with what she knew to be an incredibly lame excuse, but Barry beat her to it.

"S.T.A.R. Labs. I forgot to submit something and they gave me the pin code to get in so that I could just come in for my tests. We thought we headed for the exit, but..."

"Have you ever been locked in a broom closet for an extended period of time?" Iris asked. Joe slowly lowered his head into his hand and said, defeated:

"Just... Just go home..." 

"Yep." Barry and Iris wasted no time in escaping from the precinct and heading back to the West residence. The front door closed with a bang and Barry chuckled. 

"Guess I'd better fix that sink then, huh?" Iris laughed, a wide smile breaking over her face like a ray of sunshine. 

"If you want my dad to believe our story, yeah."

"I really don't think he does anyways," Barry muttered pointedly as he went and pulled the tool box out from the floor of the coat closet. 

"I need to get my overnight bag from the car, so I'll grab the materials while I'm out. I wasn't lying about the heat not being on in my apartment." Barry smirked as she left and set about getting what he could set up in the kitchen. He looked up at a noise coming from the doorway to see Wally step hesitantly in.

"Thought you were a plumber at first," he said nervously. "But uh... Glad that um..."

"Wally, right?" Barry said with an inviting smile as he stood up and, wiping his hands on his jeans, extended one for a handshake. Wally smiled back and accepted it.

"Yeah. Guess Iris and Joe told you about me, huh?"

"It's great to meet you."

"Same." Wally eyed the mess underneath the sink. "Want some help with that?"

"Yeah."

"Great!" Iris exclaimed as she walked in and dumped the piping and other necessities on the counter. "You've met, _and_ you've got a little project to bond over. How nice. My work here is done. If you need the upstairs shower at any point, I'll be using it. Sorry." 

"You have great faith in us," Barry retorted sarcastically as he stuck his head under the counter to get a better look at the problem. 

"Have you ever actually fixed a sink before?" Wally asked as he peered in through the remaining open space. 

"No. But there's a first time for everything." 

"Does Joe have flood insurance?" 

"Haven't a clue. Can you hand me the flashlight?"

"Better yet, I'll hold it for you while you mess with finding the leak."

"Perfect. Teamwork. This'll be over in no time." They heard the shower start upstairs as they began to tentatively work at the sink pipes, like a pair of scientists deciding it would be a good idea to work at Jurassic Park. 

"Looks like the slip," Wally murmured.

"Uh huh. If I can just-" 

"No, not the-"

"Ack!"

"Ah!"

"BARRY! WALLY!"

"Uh-"

"-Oh." Two soggy young men turned to stare at Iris as she came storming down the stairs with a towel wrapped tight around her body and soap in her hair.

"Why is the water cold!?" She demanded. 

"I don't know!" Barry exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air. "All I was trying to do was fix the sink!"

"Um, guys, we don't want a swimming pool in the kitchen, right?" Wally asked as he frantically grabbed at several towels and wrapped them around the pipes, which did little good and continued to spew water everywhere. It merely redirected the flow, and a jet shot up and drenched Barry from head to foot. As if that weren't humiliation enough, it was at that exact moment that the lock jimmied in the front door and it swung open to catch them all standing in the kitchen in a small lake with a geyser spouting out of the kitchen sink. 

" _What are you doing!?"_ Joe shouted, taking a few paces in and freezing. It was obvious that he was livid. 

"Well we just-"

"I was just-"

"The sink and-"

"One at a time," he said, making an effort to calm his temper, which was even scarier than outright anger. Iris and Wally both looked at Barry, who sighed.

"The- the sink," he explained helplessly. Joe sighed and walked the rest of the way in. 

"Where are my tools?" All three of his children immediately pointed to them. "I'll get this fixed up in no time. In the meanwhile, get yourselves dried off. When I'm finished you can mop up."

"Okay," they replied, subdued as they trekked up the stairs. Iris jumped back into the shower just long enough to wash the soap out of her hair, and Wally headed for the old furnished attic space which had been turned into his new bedroom. Barry got to his own bedroom and simply stood there for a few moments, letting the water drip onto the carpet as he let out a deep, depressed sigh. 

There was rapping of knuckles against the doorframe as Iris came in, now fully dressed with her long black hair pulled back into a damp braid.

"Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Barry muttered unconvincingly. 

"I've heard that one before." 

"I just- you never really realize how much a part of your life something truly was until it's gone, you know?" Barry explained miserably. "When I had my speed I could dry off in a couple of seconds simply by vibrating my molecules at a certain velocity. The friction would generate heat, and the water would evaporate. But now..."

"You really miss it," Iris finished quietly. Barry sighed again and gave the slightest of nods. Iris wordlessly handed him a stack of towels and flashed him a sympathetic smile before walking out and back downstairs. He and Wally joined her a few minutes later, and then Joe read them the riot act and tasked them to mop up the excess water in the kitchen.

<^•¥•^>

Joe had already gone to work the graveyard shift that night- part of the reason he'd disliked going into the precinct so early that morning to knock sense into his kids- and Wally was splayed out fast asleep in one of the armchairs in the living room. He, Barry, and Iris had settled down in front of the fire to watch a movie that no one had seemed really interested in; Wally was too busy with class work and Iris her latest article. Barry, for his part, had a case file in front of him that he'd already finished and was rereading because the verdict had just been too queer not to want to double check. He put it down and stared into space for a few moments, wondering what Cisco and Caitlin were doing at that very moment and hoping that whatever had happened to this timeline had somehow excluded the parallel world where Harrison and Jesse Wells were staying. They'd been through so much; they didn't need a temporal fluke to throw them back into it all over again. 

"Earth to Barry," Iris whispered, startling him out of his reveries. 

"Yeah. Hi." 

"Hi. What were you thinking about?" 

"Our mutual friends on a parallel world," he whispered back. Iris' smile was faint and stressed.

"Wish I could remember meeting them."

"Me too. You liked Jesse." He glanced at Wally and smiled. "Wally especially." Iris smirked and put down her laptop, snuggling against his chest so that he had to look down at her face and she had to look up at his.

"Oh? Do tell." Barry cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly before explaining the puppy love which had gone on a bit when they'd got to know each other better, feeling his heart rate begin to speed up.

"Oh, and Iris?"

"Hmm?"

"Sorry I didn't get you a Christmas present this year."

"... _You're_ the only Christmas present I need from you," she murmured, snuggling closer and burying her face into his neck. Her still-wet hair smelled strongly of her favorite shampoo. "I really missed you being here. You're like a little ray of perpetual sunshine. It didn't feel right when you weren't there to chase my storm clouds away."

"Aw. Thanks." Iris smiled as she sat back up, as always so perceptive but oblivious to the one thing that really mattered which was, in this instance, Barry's quick and shallow breathing. She went to grab her cocoa mug for a refill and tripped over the charging cord for her computer, sending the cup flying into the air. It never hit the ground. 

All Iris could see was a dark blur flitting in the room, and suddenly Barry was over by the window with the mug in his hand and not on the couch where he had been just a fraction of a second before. They both looked at each other with wide eyes, both breathing heavily. 

"... Oh my God," Iris whispered. They both jumped as Wally started awake.

"I'm up!" When he saw the two of them he asked, confused: "What'd I miss?"

"That's kind of a long story," Barry murmured with a very faint laugh. 


	9. 8

"How did you do that?" Iris asked once Wally had left for bed, accepting that caffeine wasn't going to get him through another night of studying before finals. Barry slowly sank onto the edge of the sofa, Iris' mug still in his hands. 

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I still feel..."

"Normal?" Barry gave her a genuine smirk.

"My definition of normal is _way_ different than your definition of normal. I usually feel like I've had one too many Red Bulls _all the time_ so I guess the only word to describe how I've been feeling since I lost my speed is... Drained, maybe." All the happiness at getting some of his speed back suddenly evaporated from his face as a hard glint of realization came into his eye. 

"What is it?" 

"I need to go to S.T.A.R. Labs," he said abruptly, standing up. "Something just occurred to me. You can't come this time," he added as she went for her coat. "But I promise I'll tell you everything once I get back."

"And how are you going to do that?" Iris asked skeptically. 

"I'll take the last shuttle into town and walk the remaining half mile."

"And coming home, in the freezing snow, during curfew?"

"I've got it figured out. I think I finally know what happened." Iris hesitated, then nodded.

"Be careful, all right?" Barry gave her a strained smile. 

"I'll do my best. And I _will_ explain everything to you later. That's a promise." He walked out the door and down to the bus stop, took the last one into downtown, and then walked the remainder of the way. Most everyone had gone home by now, so the hallways were deserted. _Most everyone._

_"_ Gideon?" Barry called as he walked into the time vault. 

"Hello, Barry Allen."

"Did you find anything from my scans?"

"Your energy has been siphoned, leaving the current amount in your body below 10%. This can only be accessed in moments of high stress or via adrenal spikes. Your body is slowly recharging your Speed Force energy, but it will take months to accumulate into a high enough concentration to be useful for even short spurts of time."

"Wonderful," Barry muttered sarcastically.

"The man responsible for draining you of your energy is-"

"Eobard Thawne."

"You are quite correct." Dr. Wells' voice spoke up from the opening, a sly smile on his face as he took off his glasses and slowly stood up out of his power chair. 

"You stole my speed to stabilize your own," Barry growled, beginning to pace the small room. "But you left me with just enough to be able to recharge. Why?" 

"It was never my intention to forcibly take your energy from you," Wells explained as he stalked purposefully into the room. "But as the months went by and you failed to wake up, I was faced with a choice. My own connection to the Speed Force was partially severed after our fight-"

"The night you made the mistake of traveling back in time to murder me and I chased you, so you killed my mother instead." 

"... Precisely. The choice was this: either I lose my speed entirely in the hopes that you would come out of your coma- slimmer and slimmer as the months turned into years- or I stabilize my own speed and begin the _very_ long process of training my body to be able to handle the velocity needed to break through the temporal barrier and return home- to the future." Wells' eyes glinted coldly in the bright light. "It seems every question has been answered. The only ones that remain are these: how did you know my true name, and how were you even aware of the speed which you had lost?" It was Barry's turn to smile frostily and deliver his reply in soft, even tones. 

"It's like I said earlier Thawne. I feel as if I've gotten to know you over the past few years." He made an exaggerated point of walking over to the power chair and sitting sideways in it, with his back braced against the armrest which had the movement controls on it and his legs hooked over the other in a uniquely casual pose. Wells leaned against the wall, intrigued. 

"I see that I am the one with ill-equipped knowledge on this occasion. What is it you want from me?"

"You created a special power generator to stabilize your speed," Barry remarked as he pointed at the power chair he was sitting in. "Really ingenious disguise. Nobody would think to look here for it. I'd like you to modify it into a bracelet so that I can wear it and recharge my own speed more quickly. Because like it or not Thawne, you need me. If we're going to solve this mess, we're going to have to work together. I hate the very idea myself after what you did, but I don't have a choice. There's a Metahuman named Dreamscape who can manipulate time streams. That's how I ended up here. I didn't dream a fantasy. I lived it before the timeline was altered."

"So I modify this power source, and... What?" Wells asked nonchalantly, chrossing his arms and looking bored. "Let you play hero like you always do? I don't see anything in it for me." 

"Fixing the timeline keeps the wraiths off your back," Barry pointed out. "You know it won't take them long to come here and try to repair the damage. And when they do, they'll find you." He paused, pretending to consider. "I wonder how much of a ripple you're creating at the moment."

" _I_ know what I'm doing," Wells snapped, properly riled. He was across the room in the space between two heartbeats, grabbing Barry by his shirt and slamming him against the wall. He backed away, unnerved when Barry smiled.

"Yeah? Then why did that strike such a nerve?" He whispered pointedly. "We both want the same thing here, and that's to fix the timeline."

"We have an agreement," Wells growled as he stalked over to a panel in the wall and laid his hand against it. The panel opened to reveal a small storage space. Wells grabbed a metal band with a blue glowing strip on the inner part of the ring and handed it to Barry, who eyed it before becoming satisfied that it was indeed what he was after.

"That was convenient," he remarked searchingly as he strapped it onto his right wrist.

"I had it made in case the generator under my chair was ever destroyed," Wells explained. "It has a charge that will last for an entire month even under constant use- just long enough for me to create another main generator- but you won't need it that long." 

"We need to figure out who Dreamscape is," Barry continued with a slight sigh of relief. He could already feel his energy beginning to seep back into his body. "If we both start looking for 'em in different places, eventually our paths will cross."

"I don't remember you being so... Cunning," Wells remarked carefully, studying his nemesis with great interest. Barry's eyes darkened.

"Well I guess that's what happens when you learn from the best," he muttered meaningfully before stalking out of the room, voice filtering in from the hall. "Let's just get this over with so we can be done with each other." 

Barry stepped out into the frigid air and felt the frost burn his lungs. It was one of the most painfully beautiful experiences he'd ever felt; crisp white snow sparkled like fallen stars in the moonlight and blanketed the ground in majestic flawlessness, muffling the sounds of the city and giving one the impression that they were quite alone in the entire universe. With the curfew in effect and the streets emptied, shops darkened, it felt that way more than ever. 

With every step he took he felt more and more energy coursing through his body, slowly building itself back up to its usual strength. At the moment, there was just enough for a short low-speed run. It was risky, but sometimes the smallest accomplishments were worth the trouble. Barry kept his speed at a strict 25mph to avoid doing any more damage than was absolutely necessary, a velocity which lacked enough force to actually generate lightning as he ran. He doubted at this point in his recovery if there would be any anyway. 

Iris looked up from the fading embers in the fireplace as a sound not unlike a tremendous gust of wind rattled the panes of the living room windows; the front door flew open and a dark blur dragged the falling snow in with it. Iris gasped, startled, and spun around to see Barry standing behind her. He looked tired, ragged, and a little peaked, but his spirit seemed to be in better condition than when he had left. There was an air of optimism about him that she hadn't seen for three years. 

"... I guess you're feeling better," Iris said softly. Barry smiled. 

"I'm not anywhere close to 100%, but I'm on the road to getting there," he replied, closing the door and joining her on the couch. "I promised I'd fill you in, so I'm gonna fill you in. You wouldn't understand most of it since my relationship with Dr. Wells is... Complicated, but long story short he gave me a device that will get me my speed back. While I wait for that, I can work on finding out who Dreamscape is." 

"What?" Iris asked as he smirked knowingly, intrigued. 

"That just happens to be something you _can_ help me with."

"Oh..." Iris replied, smirking back. 


	10. 9

"If my editor catches us in here we're dead," Iris whispered as they rifled around in storage looking for old newspaper clippings. She paused in her searching to watch Barry take out a large 3" binder and flip through it in a matter of seconds before discarding it and grabbing another. "Okay. Why am I even here again?" 

"Because I enjoy your company," Barry retorted absently, more interested in what he was reading. Iris huffed with exasperated amusement and started going through a stack of loose papers. She suddenly pulled one out with a triumphant flourish and waved it under his nose. Barry glanced up at her appreciatively and read it. 

"So? What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that we may have found the first piece in a very large puzzle. But now that we know what to look for..." They both jumped a bit in surprise as his phone went off, and Iris watched the door nervously while he fumbled to get it out of his pocket. "Hey Joe. What's up?"

" _Jumper. Pulling his body off of the sidewalk right now, but I'm up on the roof and it looks like somebody shredded a cat."_

"An actual cat?"

_"That's what I want you to tell me. But there's a lot of fur here. Dark."_

"I have an idea of what that might be," Barry sighed. "Okay. I'll be right over."

" _I've texted you the address. Just so you know, Singh's caught up in traffic and I'm guessing you've got ten minutes before he shows up. Try to be here by then."_ Barry ended the call and heaved a sigh. 

"Gotta go," he explained to Iris. "I think our friendly neighborhood meta-gorilla is back."

"That's an actual thing?" 

"Mmhm. He's telepathic and can control minds."

"Okay then." Barry checked to see if the coast was clear, and then he and Iris crept back out into the hallway at the CCPN to return to her desk. She shoved the newspaper clippings into a Manila folder and smiled. 

"I'll just hold on to these for safe keeping."

"Appreciate it." 

"How much energy do you have built up now?" Barry checked the bracelet.

"About 23%. I can safely run at a max of a hundred without damaging myself, though it does slow down recovery. I can read and process information like I usually would, and my perception is back to normal."

"By perception you mean...?"

"I can see things in second by second intervals if I want to," Barry explained. "Velocity and speed slowed down to be easy to follow and track." 

"What about your metabolism, or healing?" Iris asked worriedly. 

"My metabolism is gradually working itself back up to its usual efficiency in exactly the same progress as my being able to run faster the more energy I get, which makes sense since the faster I run the faster I have to replace my carbohydrates." Barry glanced at his watch and frowned. "Yikes. See you later." He zipped out of the CCPN like a shadow caught in a gust of wind, and Iris was left staring after him in unmasked admiration and incredulity. 

Joe finished calling Barry and knelt down to inspect the black fur tufts littering the edge of the roof, turning as he heard an odd whooshing sound and staring in surprise as Barry hurried over with his case. 

"I just called you three minutes ago," he exclaimed, checking his watch to be certain. Barry shrugged, opening his kit and pulling on his gloves before kneeling down to inspect the fur clumps. 

"First of all," he stated, "this was definitely not a cat." 

"Then what is it?" Detective Insom asked as she returned from interviewing witnesses. 

"What'd they say?" Joe asked absently, looking over Barry's shoulder as he worked. Mya Insom sighed, exasperated.

"They all said the same thing. The guy got into a fight with a giant-"

"Gorilla hairs," Barry stated triumphantly as he packaged the evidence into a bag. 

"-a giant Gorilla," Insom finished, bright gold eyes swimming in confusion. "Man. I thought they were joking." 

"Looks like we got another weird one," Joe muttered. They all headed back down to the sidewalk. Singh's car pulled up about fifteen minutes later, and he headed straight for them. His two detectives quickly filled him in on the situation.

"Where's Allen?" He asked impatiently when they finished. "We need to get this crime scene cleaned up as soon as possible."

"Well he's-" Joe began, turning to where Barry had been just a few moments before. "That's funny. He was right here." 

"I'm almost done," Barry assured as he dropped upside down out of a tree and hung suspended by his legs as they gripped a branch and causing everyone to jump, startled. "There wasn't much on the roof, and there's even less on the pavement here. But there's actually plenty in this tree, so I'm gonna get back to it." He hauled himself back up by an impressive display of agility, utilizing his abdomen muscles to do all the heavy lifting. Singh, Insom, and Joe walked over to stand under it, staring up into the canopy as leaves rustled and fluttered down.

"In the _tree?_ " The captain questioned skeptically. 

"Yep." 

"Great. First a giant Gorilla, and now my CSI thinks he's George of the Jungle. Just great." Barry dropped upside down again with a few bags of evidence clutched in his hand and tweezers in the other. He back-flipped out of the tree and landed neatly on his feet looking remarkably pleased with himself and moved on as if nothing had happened, leaving his audience speechless. 

"That was the last of it. I'm done here. See you back at the precinct." He packed up his case and walked off, leaving the captain and detectives with a fully processed crime scene and an incredibly weird sequence of events. 

<^•¥•^>

Wally was at the dining table with his notes spread out before him and a depressed scowl on his face as Barry walked into the house later that night, exhausted and in need of a large meal. 

"What'cha studying?" He asked as he disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with a tub of butter pecan ice cream and a spoon. 

"Thermodynamics 101," Wally sighed, frustrated. Barry drew up a chair next to him and did a quick once-over of the notes and textbook pages that were out. 

"Hmm. You taken Chemistry yet?"

"Next semester." 

"Well, then there's part of the problem," Barry murmured as he grabbed a few sheets of blank lined paper and began to furiously scribble some notes down. "Not a big one, but..." He handed them to Wally and sat back in his chair with his ice cream. "Try applying that formula to the calculations for fuel consumption and see what happens." Wally frowned slightly, but did as he was told. A wide smile spread across his face, and he looked at his foster brother with new admiration. 

"Hey, thanks." 

"It's nothing. Honest. My roommate majored in engineering when I was in college and he had the same problem. Me, being a major in forensics and therefore required to take chemistry, suggested he take it for a semester. Solution."

"So, you always wanted to be a CSI?" Wally asked as he sped through the rest of the homework with relative ease. The only ones he'd had left had to deal with the fuel to efficiency ratio. Barry nodded, spoon in his mouth. 

"Nope. At first I wanted to be a detective. But then middle school P.E. intervened." Wally smirked knowingly. "And I liked science, so your dad suggested I look into forensics. Here I am, loving my job."

"Yeah..." Wally murmured, leaning back in his chair with a thoughtful expression on his face. "I'm not really sure engineering's what I want to do with my life anymore."

"I thought you were into racing," Barry commented, slightly confused. 

"Well, I was. Until someone rigged my car and I spun out. Iris was there and I- I hit her. I didn't mean to. I couldn't stop in time. So racing's done. Racing's out. Only reason I got out of facing an investigation was because one of the CSIs who worked while you were out got evidence together to prove I'd been set up." Wally looked at Barry, curious. "What's it like, being a CSI?" 

"You looking at a career change?" Barry asked. 

"Maybe. I mean, we seem to get along well enough and I'm interested in the scientific implications of case-solving, and I was wondering-"

"Hey you two," Joe greeted as he walked in. "Barry, you get anywhere with the gorilla case?"

"The what case?" Wally asked, confused. Barry laughed. 

"You really want to get involved in all that?" He retorted, amused. Turning to Joe he added, "Yes, I did. They were definitely gorilla hairs, and as near as I can figure out the victim was under the influence of mind control. Security footage from a nearby bank shows our victim carrying a large amount of cash to the roof. He then dropped it and began walking to the edge of the building, as if in a trance. At the very edge he seemed to flip out and grabbed the nearest thing he could- a pipe, and swung a couple times for all he was worth. In the end the gorilla pushed him off, grabbed the cash, and took off."

"So... A meta-gorilla?" Joe sighed, rubbing his face. "Will wonders never cease." 

"Feliz navidad." 

"You done with your homework?" Joe asked, looking at Wally. 

"Uh... Yeah. Barry gave me an equation that helped me out."

"I had a feeling you guys would get along," Joe said with a smile. He suddenly frowned. 

" _What_ are you doing??" He exclaimed. Barry looked back at him with the tub of ice cream and shrugged.

"I regret nothing." 

"Put that back in the freezer and get something real for dinner. Now."

"There isn't anything _in_ the fridge that I can eat that Iris hasn't specifically claimed for lunch," Barry explained. Joe sighed, defeated. 

"Fine. Just take a bowl out of that for me."

"No problem." Joe was headed upstairs when he paused, slightly exasperated. 

"I don't get what's wrong with you anyway," he muttered. "I can't keep anything in the kitchen long enough to cook it up for dinner." Barry smirked and took another spoonful of the ice cream. 


	11. 10

_🎶Oh the weather outside_

_Is frightful but the fire's so_

_Delightful and since we've no_

_Place to go let it snow_

_Let it snow let it snow... 🎶_

_"_ Hey, you want these lights on the tree or on the house?" Wally called. Joe looked up from where he was rummaging through a box full of ornaments.

"House. Go find Barry. I think he's somewhere outside already." 

"Right." Wally trekked outside and dropped them on the pile, looking around. "Hey, Barry?" 

"Yeah?" Barry poked his head around the side of the house.

"Got more lights for you." A pause. "Where's the ladder?" 

"Fell down about fifteen minutes ago." 

"Umm... Have you been hanging off the side of the house for the past fifteen minutes then?" Barry shimmied back onto the porch roof and pointed at the open window. 

"Parkour. Free-range mountain climbing. Great for upper body." 

"... Okay." Iris came outside and followed Wally's line of sight. 

"Hey, Greased Lightning! Your phone's ringing."

"I'll be right down," Barry laughed as he climbed through the window and into the second story of the house. He reappeared a few moments later coming down the landing and walking into the living room to grab his phone.

"'Greased Lightning?'" Wally repeated questioningly. 

"I'll explain later, if Barry's okay with it."

"You guys should skip dating and just get married." 

"What?" Iris asked, surprised. "Oh, no. Barry... We're not- he's not-" Wally started laughing. 

"Sure," he retorted sarcastically. "Look me in the eye and tell me that you don't have feelings for him." 

"He's- I- That's not the- Wally!" 

"You _like_ him," Wally pressed. " _Like_ like him."

"Now you're just being annoying," Iris huffed.

"Yeah, well I'm making up for lost time." 

"Barry's just a really good friend," Iris stated adamantly, her cheeks slowly being tinted with a greater and greater amount of red. "Besides, I don't think he sees me in that way." 

"You're kidding, right? You're his _world._ If you don't believe me then ask him." Wally left it at that and walked back into the house to help with the interior decorations. Barry came out of the house with a thoughtful look on his face and picked up a new strand of lights from the pile on the lawn, boots crunching the thin layer of snow blanketing it. 

"Who called?" Iris asked quietly. 

"Hmm? Oh. That was Detective Insom. She was giving an update on the case."

"Do you mind if Wally knows about- uh- your condition?" Barry's brow did the Spock lift as he stared at her quizzically.

"Not really. It might be a good idea to have someone else in the know, actually." He grew thoughtful again. "Cisco's probably the best choice from our S.T.A.R. Labs team... No, that's fine. Maybe we can- Hey, Wally! Get out here!" As Wally came out of the house he smiled mischieviously at Iris. "After all, seeing is believing."

"What are you going to do?" She questioned warningly as he sized up the space between him and the side of the house. 

"You'll see."

"What's up?" Wally asked when he arrived on the lawn. 

"This is about the Greased Lightning thing," Iris explained quickly. Barry paused in what he was doing to smile at Wally. 

"So first of all, I'm a metahuman." Wally's eyes widened.

"Um, _okay._ " 

"Yeah. We'll explain the rest later, once I've convinced you." He pointed at the roof. "Keep your eyes on that." Barry wrapped the lights securely about his arm and took off, scaling the side of the house with ease. The lights on the second story were up within seconds, and then he was standing next to them both on the front lawn once more. 

"But- you- _Nyoom_ ," Wally finished lamely. 

"I think we broke him," Iris laughed. 

"And it's only just beginning," Barry sighed. "The whole story is this..."

<^•¥•^>

"Wow." Was all Wally could say when Barry had finished. "That's nuts."

"Basically," Barry conceded. 

"But why did you tell _me?"_ Wally asked. 

"Well... Another pair of eyes is an advantage," Barry explained. "And if whoever this person is doesn't suspect you of being on our side, then it gives us an even bigger one."

"You want me to keep my eyes and ears open," Wally summed up.

"Exactly," Iris affirmed. 

"How many people does it take to put up the lights?" Joe called from inside the house. 

"Just one!" Barry called back with a smirk. "But with three it gets done faster. We're all set up outside."

"Then get in here and help me with _inside,"_ their father commanded. The three young adults gave each other amused, inside-joke looks and obeyed. Wally had to put the ornaments on while Iris headed for the kitchen, and Barry followed to snag a cookie or two. 

"Hey!" Iris growled, moving to smack his hand and missing because he was too fast. "Paws off."

"I need the calories," Barry begged mockingly as he allowed her to usher him out. "Hey, Wall-man. Need help with those?" 

"The more the merrier." 

Joe smiled as he watched his kids getting things ready for the holiday season, which was only a week away. With Barry awake, it was going to be the first Christmas in a recent strain of stiff-upper-lips that felt authentic. Barry seemed to sense that his foster father was watching he and Wally put up the decorations, because he paused long enough to return the smile and then continue on with what he was doing.


	12. 11

"Your vitals are way off," Caitlin protested as she followed Barry around his lab. She'd taken the time out of her day to come visit him. "Your last tests produced some weird results. I want you to come in for a retake."

"Well," Barry grunted as he stood up on a chair and dragged a box of papers off the top of a high shelf, "they'll only get weirder. My version of peak health look's entirely different from yours." Caitlin frowned. 

"What are you saying?" She asked. 

"I'm saying that I'm a metahuman, so my vitals have a new normal than what you're used to."

"There was absolutely no indication that you were a metahuman while you were in your coma," Caitlin refuted somewhat impatiently. Barry sighed in exasperation. He turned to her and gripped her shoulders firmly.

"Honestly, Caitlin. I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me." Caitlin wriggled free of his grasp and stepped in close, backing him against the wall.

" _I spent three years of my life concerned about you,_ " she growled quietly, eyes flaming with righteous anger. _"I won't waste those three years because you decided you didn't need my help."_

"Is this a bad time?" Cisco asked as he walked in. 

"Oh thank God," Barry murmured as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Cisco. Hey. Just the person I needed to talk to." 

"This discussion isn't over," Caitlin promised darkly.

"What discussion?" Cisco inquired, confused. 

"Barry thinks he's a metahuman."

" _Whaaaat?_ Dude, that's so awesome."

"You're supposed to be on _my_ side," Caitlin reminded him. 

"... Right..." Cisco turned to Barry and shrugged. "Hands are tied, man. If I want to live I gotta agree with whatever she says." He turned back to Caitlin. "What- what were you saying, exactly?"

"That there's no way he can be, because all of the tests we took while he was in his coma returned normal."

"You don't believe me," Barry stated. "That's fine. I can live with that. But I'm not going in for a retest. I don't have the time. ... Or the patience. I really don't. I've got case files to finish up and I'm trying to track down the meta in the media called Dreamscape, so-"

"The one that nobody's ever seen, let alone caught?" Cisco asked, interested.

"Yeah. That one. They're a lot bigger threat than I think people realize."

"It's three days before Christmas," Iris protested as she walked in. "Relax. Dreamscape will still be there after. Look," she added at his cynical expression, "I know this is pretty important to you. But my dad and I just got you back, and there's no way we're letting you spend the first Christmas together again stuck in your lab. So come on. Break time."

"I-Iris!" Barry protested as she dragged him from the room. 

"You sure they're just friends?" Cisco muttered after they'd gone. Caitlin just shrugged. 

Once they were out in the hallway Iris let go of his arm and turned to stare at him excitedly. 

"Okay, I'll bite," Barry conceded, intrigued. "What's up?" 

"Oh... Nothing. Just _this,_ " Iris stated triumphantly as she pulled a folder out of her purse. "Look what I found."

"Someone got a screenshot?" Barry exclaimed as he stared at the picture. "Okay. Definitely female. That cuts out a huge portion of the city's population already. Uh... From the surveillance I'd say young adult, 20-30ish. Dark hair, could be dyed so that doesn't really help. Caucasian." 

"See? I told you it would be a good idea to take a break," Iris needled gently with a smirk. Barry looked back at her, gaze filled with unmasked admiration. 

"You. Are. Incredible."

"I know." 

"And oh so humble." 

"I want coffee," Iris decided. "Come on. Let's go." 

"After getting this photo?" Barry laughed as he pulled on his coat. "I'd be willing to follow you to the ends of the Earth with only mild complaining." 

"Don't get sentimental on me Allen," Iris joked as she turned around to button his collar. "I like my men like I like my eggnog. Spirited." The smile dropped off of his face and they stood there for a few awkward moments without saying anything. Barry finally cleared his throat loudly and gestured to the staircase.

"After you." 

"... Thanks." 

"How's the gorilla case coming, Allen?" Insom asked as they headed for the elevator.

"All circumstantial and quite frankly unbelievable if presented before a judge," Barry replied. Mya sighed.

"Great. Hopefully something new crops up, like, I don't know... a video as cement proof. I want this one over with."

"Same here," Joe agreed as he walked out of the captain's office. Iris walked up and kissed him on the cheek in greeting. "Hey baby."

"Hi dad, bye dad," she said with a smile as she grabbed Barry's arm and dragged him away again. Joe laughed as Barry shrugged helplessly and took the path of less resistant in allowing her to do so. 

<^•¥•^>

"I'll take a caramel latte," Iris ordered pleasantly to the barista behind the counter at Jitters. 

"Hazelnut cappuccino," Barry added with a smile as he took out his wallet. "My treat."

"Aw, how sweet," Iris thanked. She went and found them a table while Barry paid for the coffees and followed her over to a spot by the bank of windows looking out into the street. "So," she began when they were seated. "Rough night?" He blinked at her a couple of times, confused.

"... What?"

"I walked by on my way to the kitchen for a midnight cookie and your door was kinda open. You seemed pretty restless. Tossing and turning and muttering something. I couldn't make out what." She looked him in the eye, concerned. "So are you okay?" Barry swallowed a couple of times and avoided her gaze.

"My... night terrors are back," he admitted quietly as he set his mug down. 

"You haven't had night terrors since you were fifteen."

"I told you about Zoom, right?" Iris nodded. "What I didn't tell you is that he broke my back, stole my speed, and killed my dad right in front of me. He also kidnapped Wally, Caitlin, a girl named Jesse. It's... it's not the kind of thing people really feel up to talking about." Iris looked at him, horrified. 

"Oh my God," she choked out, abruptly setting her coffee down on the table and lunging over it to comfort him in a hug. The two mugs tilted dangerously and then fell off the edge. Iris missed her mark as he suddenly disappeared and reappeared right next to the table holding one in each hand and staring at her reprovingly. 

"... Sorry. Nice save." Barry just shook his head as he set them back down, then stood there expectantly with his arms open. She pulled him into an iron-like grip and said quietly, "Nobody should have to go through all that."

"Yeah." 

"So why did you?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you keep fighting him?" Iris asked, genuinely curious. Barry sighed, maneuvering about so that he was looking down into her face and she was looking up into his. 

"Because nobody messes with my family and gets away with it," he said in a quiet, serious tone.


	13. 12

**Mya Insom PoV**

So Barry's up and about. Not sure how I should feel about that. In some ways I feel really good, because this city isn't the one I know anymore. It's looking less and less like home and more and more like the concrete jungle for a metahuman turf war by the day. I hadn't realized just how lucky we were to have him. 

On the other hand, I'm really hoping that he doesn't take any notice of my nom de guerre- that is, Dreamscape. I've been pretty careful, but the kid is good. I don't know why we haven't seen him flitting about the city and saving people yet, in a blur of red and a flash- no pun intended- of gold lightning. I know we need him. I just didn't realize how much until he was gone. 

Central City is getting to be more like Starling- no no, sorry. _Star_ City all the time. That's really not a compliment. This used to be a place where parents could lose their kids in the mall and find them half an hour later talking with a kindly elderly couple who saw fit to distract them and keep them in one place until their parents returned. It was a place where people felt safe taking public transportation at night. Sure, we had plenty of carjackings, robberies, murders, etc. But the Flash gave us all hope. He made us feel safe. Because no matter how bad things got out there, he'd always show up to save the day. He closed a freaking _wormhole_ above the city. Come on. 

Just because I'm Dreamscape, it doesn't mean that I don't care. I do. I live here. I protect its people. I only steal for extra cash. And then I don't hurt anybody while doing it. They actually wake up feeling pretty refreshed. I'm not defending what I do. I know it's wrong. But I can't stop. I love the feel of the adrenaline when someone catches me, when I tweak the timeline just enough that they don't actually ever do it but just remember. I tried catching bad guys using my powers at first, but it just wasn't the same. Honestly, I live for the rush and the danger. 

I don't regret many things in my life, but changing the Flash's past so that I could go for higher-profile targets is definitely one of them. The newspapers noticing me without my having to worry about Central City's very own superhero wasn't worth it. I made a big mistake, but now we all have to pay the price and live with it. I can't undo what I've done. I've tried before. Failed every single attempt. But the Flash is better than me, and I know this might sound weird, but I'm hoping he can fix it. I'm pretty sure that he might be the only one who can.


	14. 13

Barry rolled over in his sleep and groaned.

"Barry. Barry. _Barry. Wake. Up._ "

"Iris?" He muttered as he opened heavy eyelids to stare at the clock. "It's 4:30 in the morning. Please don't turn this into a regular thing."

"I just thought you'd like to know that Harrison Wells is on our front walk and wanting to have a word with you," Iris whispered. "... He's also standing." 

"I'm up." 

"Thought so."

"Did you even go to sleep last night?" Iris shook her head as he threw back the covers and got up in nothing more than a pair of sleep-pants, stumbling toward the door with one of the blankets still clinging stubbornly to his foot.

"I got permission to chase down a lead. Got back a few minutes ago. I have tomorrow off so I can sleep in. You might want to watch out for the-" She winced as there was a loud series of thuds. "-Stairs."

"What was that?" Joe hissed as Iris stepped back out into the hallway and peered down the staircase. Wally also made a sleepy appearance. 

"It was just Barry falling down the stairs," Iris assured her father, who had his gun out and was almost entirely certain that they were in the middle of a home invasion. A groan filtered up to them.

"... Ow..." Wally sighed and went back to his room. Joe rubbed his face and faded back through the door of his own. Iris cast one last look down the stairs and headed for hers.

"That was very dramatic," Wells remarked quietly as Barry picked himself up off the landing and practically stepped on his own toes to get to one of the recliners and collapse down into it. He muttered something that sounded vaguely like an insult and began rotating his right arm because his shoulder hurt. "Out of nothing more than a slight curiosity, how charged up are you?"

"Mm... 47%. Thanks for asking. I know not to mistake your interest for concern for my well-being."

"At least we have an understanding. It should start compiling more quickly now. You've got more energy to replicate on its own so it shouldn't take as long."

"Great. Then you can have this thing back and I can expect my usual level of... Efficiency." 

"There's more," Wells explained as he pointed to the flash drive on the coffee table. He stood as Barry picked it up. "It's all the information I could find on Dreamscape. There's not much, but I stuck to my end of the bargain." He paused in the open doorway. "Just make sure you stick to yours."

"The timeline will go back to normal," Barry promised. "I swear it." He closed the door and leaned heavily against it with a sigh, then began fiddling with the bracelet on his wrist. It was uncomfortable and gave off an electric shock whenever it brushed against something metal, but it was worth it. He debated on when he would be telling Joe about what had happened, but knew it had to be soon. The man was a detective and there were some things Barry just couldn't hide, like his metabolism or healing. That, and he couldn't bring himself to do it. 

He trudged back up the stairs, sharp little gasps of discomfort being emitted whenever he put sole pressure on his left leg as he lifted his right to the next step. Barry reached his bed and fell down into it, out like a light within three minutes. 

The next morning proved to be an interesting situation. He made it down the stairs with plenty of fading yellowish-green bruises on his face and lower arms, with more hidden underneath his shirt and pants. Wally paused in pouring himself a bowl of cereal to simply stare for a few moments, and Iris took one look and openly winced. 

"Have a nice pre-dawn adventure?" Joe asked cynically as he walked into the dining room. He stopped in his tracks and gave his foster son a once-over, frowning at the incongruity. "Those look a few days old already." Barry shrugged helplessly. 

"I got nothin'." 

"Uh huh. So why'd you even go near the stairs last- morning?"

"Sleepwalking."

"But you don't sleepwalk."

"There's a first time for everything," Wally put in helpfully. Iris smirked, but knew it would be best if she stayed out of the conversation. Barry lowered himself gingerly into a chair after disappearing into the kitchen to grab a bowl, the sound of his stomach growling following him. He poured the Lucky Charms in and dumped some milk on them, becoming very interested in his breakfast. Joe shook his head and grabbed the Bran Flakes, his eyes settling on the power bracelet around Barry's wrist. It was still glowing faintly on the inner surface of the band, the blue light casting an odd discoloration over his skin. Barry, for his part, seemed oblivious to Joe's interest as he polished off the first bowl and poured himself a second while he, Wally, and Iris engaged in light conversation.

<^•¥•^>

Barry sighed as Caitlin approached. Really, he loved her stubborn tenacity in any other given situation... Just not when it came to the subject of the re-tests. In that she was a true crusader and advocate, and he was beginning to feel pursued. Barry slipped into a knot of guys walking through the precinct and managed to avoid her entirely as he headed out after finishing a case file. He was on his way to a new crime scene, this one reportedly being caused by a metahuman. It was a bit of a sprint to the place, but he came to a skidding halt that left long, narrow streaks on the pavement and the acrid smell of burning rubber in the air. 

"Barry!"

"Hey Joe. What's up?" Barry asked as he dropped to the ground with a swab to collect some blood samples. Joe tapped his watch and eyed it suspiciously. 

"You sure got here quick," he remarked pointedly as he gave up, satisfied that the watch was functioning properly. 

"I was in the neighborhood."

"With your kit?"

"You have your hobbies..." 

"I can't wait until you're ready to tell me what's really going on with you," Joe muttered. Barry exhaled and swiftly leapt to his feet. "Body's over there. Looks like he got barbecued." 

"Hmm... Less barbecued, more... Fried," Barry commented as he looked at it. "See the scorch marks? If he'd been burned there would be soot. This surrounding ring is in an arc."

"He was electrocuted," Joe concluded, writing it down on his notepad. A car came to a rolling stop and Detective Insom jumped out. "You took your time."

"Accident on sixth. Backed up all the way to Orchard," Insom excused. "What do we got?" 

"Blackout," Joe replied casually. Mya sighed, leaning on the hood. 

"Great. Power outages for the next month," she muttered. "What's _your_ problem?" She asked as Barry straightened abruptly with a worried look on his face. 

"Nothing," he replied quickly. "I'm just curious to know why he left town and came back now, of all times."

"Real name's Farooq Gibran," Joe explained. "He was your average frat kid until the Particle Accelerator went off. Climbed an electrical tower and got all the volts or watts or whatever surging through his body when the plant overloaded. He feeds off of electrical energy and can kill with it, too. He makes the circuit. Hits up the power plants in the cities of the surrounding area in a round. That way too much doesn't get drained at a time and he can feed as much as he wants."

"We rarely get a body from him," Mya added. "Usually just a city-wide blackout for a few days. Hence the media nickname." 

"Yeah, he's more of a pest than an actual perp," Joe agreed. "Tried killing off Harrison Wells about a year and a half ago. This weird flying fire dude showed up and sent him on his way."

"Firestorm?" Barry asked sharply, interested. 

"Military showed up. Claimed he was theirs," Mya murmured. "Haven't seen him since. That was way after the girl who could blow things up just by touching them. Media called her Plastique. Wonder what happened to them, sometimes."

"Experiments," Joe growled. "What else are they good for to them?" 

"Well, there's not much for me to process here," Barry admitted as he looked around at the crime scene. "I have a feeling that Autopsy will get better results than I will." He was rubbing at the bracelet on his arm again. It was starting to chafe. The movement didn't escape Joe's notice. 

"Why do you even wear that thing if it bothers you?" He asked. Barry abruptly shoved his coatsleeve over the band and began casting about for more evidence. 

"Courtesy of S.T.A.R. Labs," he evaded with a grimace. His phone started ringing and he picked it up more out of an act of desperation than anything else."

"Forensics. Allen, CSI. Oh, hey Detective Spivot. Yeah, no. I just got the case file finished up. It's on my desk. No, just go and grab it. I'm at a crime scene and don't know when I'll be back. Yep. You're welcome." The call ended and he began scanning the ground of the power plant again, intrigued. 

"What exactly are you expecting to find?" Detective Insom asked. Barry glanced at her and then pointed at the scorch pattern, indicating that she follow him. They took careful, interested steps and tracked after a trail of singed concrete scallop-like markings, which were distant enough from each other that they gave the appearance of footprints. Joe turned back around from talking to patrol officer to find them both a fair sprint away, slightly bent over and heads staring at the ground with dedicated persistence. He sighed and followed after. 


	15. 14

"You need a vacation," Iris pressed. Barry groaned and let his head fall onto the table with a bang. They were sitting at the dining table of the West residence with a box of pizza and their own respective work on either side, spread out before them in wide-fanning arcs. " _I_ need a vacation."

"There's just too much to do," Barry excused lamely. "I can't just come back to the job and leave on a trip a week later." 

"You should have _waited_ a week before coming back on then," Iris pointed out. "Look, I'm sure that Singh would understand. You've been going nonstop the entire time you've been here. Come on. You caught up on three months of backlog in three days. I think you deserve a break. I started Christmas vacation yesterday. How about this. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, so why don't you take the 24th, 25th, and 26th off?"

"I guess I could do that," Barry reasoned with himself. "I mean, it _is_ the first Christmas you've had me back for in three years..."

"My point exactly." Iris reached for another slice of pizza- her fourth- and frowned, giving Barry an odd look as she searched through the empty box. "You feeling better? Because I could have sworn there was half a box left ten minutes ago." Barry smiled unapologetically and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling for a few moments. 

"All right, you've convinced me. I'll take a small Christmas vacation off. It'll give me time to think and to recover the rest of my speed."

"Yes!" Iris exclaimed in victory. "Great. So where are we going?" 

"Who said _we_ were going anywhere?" Barry laughed. Seeing her somewhat crestfallen face he added, "I'm joking. I was thinking about going over to Star City the day after Christmas. Not to stay over or anything. Just to make a day trip out of it. Say hi to Dig and Ollie."

"I still can't believe you know Oliver Queen," Iris muttered.

"That's not even the half of it," Barry replied carefully. He hadn't told her that Oliver was the Green Arrow. He'd just explained that he _knew_ the Green Arrow. He'd have to run that by him before saying anything else. 

"Day trip to Star City!" Iris announced to no one in particular. "So we taking the train?" 

"Yeah," Barry said with a smile as he took a sip of some Coke-Cola. 

"This is going to be great," Iris continued enthusiastically. "Star City's the fun one." Barry choked on his drink and had to make an effort not to spew it across the room. It went up his nose instead. 

"Oh, fizz! Oh, it burns! Ah!" Iris started laughing. 

"What's so funny?" Wally asked as he came in through the front door with a few bags and boxes. 

"Coke went up his nose." She started laughing harder. 

"Agh... Mm. Ugh. So, Wally," Barry began, squinting and pressing around his nasal cavity. "I never thought to ask. Are you around for Christmas Break or are you living at home and commuting to campus?" 

"Living at home," Wally replied promptly. "I have classes starting up again after New Years'." 

"Nice."

"I thought so. Room and Board's more expensive than tuition anymore." 

"No truer words," Iris muttered, sobering. "Anyway. You have any projects due when you get back?"

"Just one. Mind if I join you guys?"

"Pull up a seat," Barry wheezed, exhaling with great force through his nostrils in an attempt to clear his nose out.

"Thanks." He spread a fan of papers out and opened a book and binder before pulling out his laptop and booting it up. "Wait, you had pizza? Man, I'm starving."

" _Had_ being the operative word," Iris retorted drily with an accusative glance at Barry. 

"I can order another one," Allen replied, amused. He reached for his phone and put in the number. "Pepperoni and sausage again?"

"Could it be Ham and sausage?" Wally asked. "Their pepperoni is unusually spicy right now for some reason."

"Sure thing." 

Joe came home around 11:00 and found Barry sitting alone at the table; there were papers, notebooks, laptops, etc scattered all over the surface. 

"Study group?" He asked, arcing an eyebrow. Barry looked up from whatever he'd been working on.

"Wally left to go help a friend move his couch into his apartment," he explained as he leaned back in his seat and stretched, yawning profusely as he did so. "Iris fell asleep about half an hour ago. I had to carry her up to her room." He was rewarded with a quiet chuckle from his foster father, who came up behind him and noted the work spread out on the table. His smiled abruptly dropped off of his face.

"Bar, these- these aren't case files they're- what are these?" He asked, picking one up. Barry took a few moments to look at Joe with a conflicted expression upon his face, eyes dark with undetermined consideration. 

"They're um... They're military files," he said, swallowing nervously. "About illegal experimentations on metahumans."

"Where did you get these?"

"I uh, I took them from the NPRC building. They were listed as deceased."

"Why?" Joe asked softly, sinking into a chair as he felt an odd, sickly feeling beginning to creep into the pit of his stomach. He'd known something was off practically the moment the kid had shown up on his doorstep. "Why would you- how did you- who are these people to you?" It was a struggle just to get the words out in the correct order. Barry looked away, unable to meet his gaze. 

"Firestorm and Plastique, they never did anything," he explained quietly. "They were just metahumans who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. They're not the only ones. This city just never heard of them. Didn't get the chance to. They all disappeared before anyone noticed that they were... Different." His voice throbbed with anger. "Some of 'em are just kids. Others... Wives, husbands. Siblings. Parents. Sons. Daughters. Friends. I bet most of them don't even know why they were taken."

"Taken as in abducted?" Joe asked sharply, grabbing another folder and paging through it. When he looked back up his expression changed from desperate to horrified. "These are all missing persons that we've got active searches for."

"They're metahumans," Barry muttered miserably. "And the whole world's scared of who they are. What they can do. So the government located them and then made them go away."

"We haven't exactly been given any reason to trust these people," Joe countered swiftly. "They're-"

"What? They're not like you so it doesn't count?" Barry asked, pain and betrayal coursing through his body audibly and visually. It was fueling his righteous anger. "That's what it's come to? They're _people,_ Joe. They have families. They have lives. They have rights!" He was steadily working himself up into a frenzy, getting up and beginning to pace the room. "They never asked for it! None of them asked for that to happen! They're all victims here, okay! It wasn't them who caused the Particle Accelerator to explode, and it wasn't them who thought that, because of their new abilities, it meant we were above the law!" For a few moments a deafening silence filled the room. They could hear a soft murmuring as someone turned over in their sleep upstairs. 

"We."

"What?"

"You said 'we,' not 'they,'" Joe responded quietly. Barry froze, eyes widening in realization at his mistake. He brought his hand up and ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times, frustrated. Joe just sat there, watching his foster son begin to pace back and forth once again with sad eyes. 

"Bar, what is going on with you?" He whispered. Barry slowly collapsed tiredly back into his chair and lowered his face into his hand, sighing. When he looked back up his eyes were gleaming wetly, brightly, in the poor artificial lighting. 

"I'm a metahuman." Barry choked the words out as if they were made of poison. "I- I can- I can run really fast. Think- fast- too. I- I can do everything- pretty fast. I'm the kid that always believed in the impossible, and never actually counted on _becoming_ the impossible. And I can't- _won't-_ apologize for the one thing in my life that makes sense to me. Being who I am- _what_ I am, is one of the best things in my life. And like everything else in my- my _tortured existence_ it came out of something bad. But I made it good, and it's me. It's who I am now, and I refuse to apologize for who I am," he finished breathlessly, staring at Joe with two mixed emotions dominating his form: desire for understanding and stubborn resolve. 

"And you... What? Identify with these people?" Joe said slowly, looking from the scattered files to Barry and back again. "Barry, I've spent the entire two weeks you've been back awake wondering what was wrong with you and why you wouldn't tell me. Were you... Were you scared, or what? Did you honestly think that I'd- that I'd resent you or- or look at you differently because of it?" He paused for a moment. "Th- The last part's true. I look at you now and I can't even begin to describe how I feel knowing that the kid I took to soccer practice has- has _superpowers._ But I- _nothing_ can make me leave you. You're my kid, Bar, and you'll _always_ be my kid. No matter what." Joe had half-risen in his seat as he spoke, but he suddenly found himself thrown back into his chair with all of the air in his lungs forcefully expelled from his body as Barry crashed into him, crying into his shirt collar. 

"You never actually said that the first time," he murmured. "It was just sort of implied. But until now I didn't realize it was something I needed to hear." The words didn't make sense to him, but Joe responded anyway.

"It's okay kid. We'll get this figured out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: When I wrote the second half of this chapter I had the song "Gone Gone Gone" by Phillip Phillips stuck in my head, so if there's anyone reading this who can actually make music videos and they feel inclined to make a Barry/Joe one to that song then more power to ya. I'd do it myself, but I can't make a video to save my life. 


	16. 15

Barry drew back the curtains in his bedroom and looked out onto a clear, white morning. Fresh snow had come during the night and blanketed the area, only a few inches deep but pristinely there and undisturbed nonetheless. It covered everything in a glittering shawl and sparkled brilliantly in the sunshine, promising a great start to a good day. 

He turned around at a furious rapping on his doorframe and smiled as an empty envelope shot into the room from underneath the door, where it fluttered into the air and did a loop-de-loop before landing on the carpet. When he picked it up it read:

_Five, Four, Three, Two, One..._

The door flew open and Iris stood in it, looking confused to find his room empty. She jumped in surprise when she turned around to find him standing right behind her with a mischievious smile on his face. 

"Too slow," he greeted, laughing as he literally swept her off of her feet and carried her down to the living room. "Merry Christmas." 

"Merry Christmas," Iris laughed back, throwing her arms around his neck in case he lost his grip on her while going down the stairs. Barry made it down without incident and then suddenly dropped her over the back of the couch. It was so unexpected that she lost her grip and let out a yelp in surprise. 

"Barry!"

"Oh, so _that's_ how you take her out of her comfort zone," Wally commented from one of the armchairs. He had curled himself into it with a large cup of coffee and was quietly reading a book from one of the newer popular trilogy series. 

"Peppermint Pretzels just out of the oven," Joe announced as he walked in with one shoved into his mouth muffling his words. 

"Yum!" Iris exclaimed as she leapt up off the sofa and padded into the kitchen. Barry hurdled over the couch with ease and followed her. 

"You're up early," Joe commented as he sat down on the now vacant cushions and regarded his son with mild curiosity.

"First official Christmas with my dad, sister, and foster brother," Wally said, looking up from his book and smiling. Joe was about to reply when Barry came streaking back into the living room with a yelp, diving behind an end table. Iris came strolling leisurely in a few moments after with a mug of coffee and a plate of Peppermint Pretzels looking remarkably pleased with herself. 

"You're smiling," Barry muttered. "I'm scared."

"You should be. It's in your hair."

"Wha-? No! Ugh! Iris!" 

"But you're my Christmas present this year," Iris laughed teasingly as Barry danced around the center of the room trying to get the sticky bow out of his hair. It was stuck fast and refused to budge.

"Still liking this momentous occasion?" Joe asked in amusement, turning to Wally.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Wally retorted with a smile. Barry gave up a few minutes later and sat heavily on the couch with a defeated sigh as Iris curled up on the floor with her back pressed against his legs. She was in a prime position to grab the festively wrapped packages underneath the tree. Iris' phone went off and Barry was answering it before it had finished its first ring.

"Iris' phone. This is her indentured secretary. How may I help you?"

"Give," Iris growled. Barry smirked and shook his head.

"Uh huh. Yep. Okay. I'll tell her. Great. Yeah. Merry Christmas to you too." He tossed the device to her and explained. "So that was your landlord and he was calling to say that the hearing is back on in your apartment building."

"I love the sound of good news in the morning," Iris sighed happily. "Okay. Shall we do presents?" 

"Start it up," Wally murmured as he snapped his book closed and put it on the table next to him. 

"First one's for dad... From Wally and I." She handed him an envelope. "We sort of ganged up together on it."

"Considering that this is the proof of purchase for a new set of tires on my car, I'm not surprised," Joe responded with a smile. "Thanks baby. Keeping me safe?"

"That, and they're all-terrain so we could... Oh, I don't know, go off-roading this summer a little bit," Wally put in suggestively. "Hey, Iris. Open mine up next."

"Don't have to tell me twice." She ripped into the packaging and seemed to melt. "Oh, Wally. It's beautiful." She held up a light red sweater with sleeves that dropped down low, with a silver-colored clasp up underneath the right side of the jaw. "I love it." 

"Then you'll like what I got you to go with it," Barry encouraged. Iris raised an eyebrow at him and opened his next, which happened to be small-box.

"This couldn't have been planned better," She inquired, curious as she fawned over a pair of sparkling, dangling earrings. "These are amazing."

"We literally ran into each other at the store and decided to coordinate," Wally explained. 

"All right, all right," Joe cut in. "Wally, you're up." Iris tossed him a package and he tore into it, letting out an exclamation of appreciation as he pulled out an old, slightly battered but incredibly well-taken care of satchel. 

"That was your grandfather's," Joe explained. "Take a look inside." Wally did, gently extracting a biker's jacket. 

"Wow... Thanks, Dad. This is for a motorcycle-"

"He was one of those Beatniks," Joe chuckled. My grandmother had a fit." 

"That actually explains _so much_ ," Iris commented sarcastically. She grabbed another package and turned to drop it in Barry's lap. It was also small-box. Barry opened it up to see a flash-drive nestled snugly in an old jewelry box. 

"After the first year you missed I kind of... Started making little video diaries about important things and sometimes the small things too," she admitted. "I put them all on there for you to watch lat- oof!" Iris found herself caught in a choke-hold style hug as Barry leaned over to express his thanks. 

"Bar, do mine next," Joe requested. Iris was released from her hug and went scavenging under the tree. Barry leaned back into the couch and smiled. 

"Only if you open mine up first."

"Deal." Iris tossed them both of their packages and watched intently. Joe opened his to find a new wallet. It had a space for a picture, and the one which had been inserted was of Barry, Iris, and Wally in the middle of an impromptu pillow fight.

"Kind of from all of us."

"And kinda not," Joe pointed out gently. He motioned for Barry to open his. The moment he saw what was inside he froze, eyes widening in surprise. He slowly peeled his gaze away from the present to look at his foster father.

"But- but these are my grandfather's service tags," he said incredulously, picking them up and fingering them to make sure they were actually there. "My mom used to take them out every once in a while and talk about his service in Korea." He let them fall back into the box. "Joe, where did you-"

"I've been holding 'em for a while," Joe explained. "Been waiting for the right moment to give them to you." He leaned over and picked the dog tags up. "Here. Let me." Barry ducked his head through the chain and stared at the scratched and dented pieces of metal as they fell against his chest, eyes glistening with unshed tears. His smile was bittersweet.

"I never thought I'd see these again," he murmured. He swiped his sleeve over his face and made an effort to lighten the mood. "Hey, Wally. Open mine."

"Okay... You serious?" Wally exclaimed, pulling out a textbook on forensics. 

"Well you seemed interested and I'm definitely not going to need it anymore, so it's an easy way to see if that's something you actually want to go into," Barry explained casually. "And if it is then you don't need to buy your textbooks because I've got them all."

"Thanks." He was already leafing through it. 

"This one's for me from dad," Iris commented offhandedly as she grabbed her last present. "Pepper spray. I get the feeling you're trying to tell me something about investigative journalism."

"Just looking out for my baby girl," Joe replied innocently, laughing. "Oh. Barry, that last one's from all the guys in the precinct. They pitched in together to get it sort of as a welcome back present." 

"Should I be afraid?" Barry asked sardonically as he peeled back the navy blue wrapping to reveal a plain brown box. He opened it up and laughed.

"Don't keep us in suspense," Iris protested. "What is it?"

"An alarm clock," Barry chuckled as he pulled it out. "And it's got a note too. 'So you won't sleep in.' Cute." 

"Priceless," Joe retorted with a smirk. 

"Definitely." 


	17. 16

Joe stood looking out at the cloudy sky through the living room window, frowning at the threatening weather. He turned around upon hearing a series of thuds come down the staircase to see Barry catch ahold of the very edge of an end table as it crashed into the railing of the landing, eyes wide.

"No!"

"What are you up to now?" Joe laughed. Barry grumbled as he picked the table up and hoisted it to the floor. 

"Iris says she wants this in her apartment, so she set it at the top of the stairs and misjudged where the step was."

"You stopping by her place on the way to the train station?"

"Nah. She doesn't have the space to move it yet. It just sort of decided it wanted to leave early."

"You guys be careful in Star City," Joe cautioned. "It might be safer with all those vigilantes than this place, but I don't trust anybody who dresses up in bright skin-tight leather and jumps off of buildings." There was an awkward pause. "... Aside from you, apparently, in an alternate time... Thingie..." 

"Uh huh." Barry made an effort to play up the illusion of being unconcerned. "We'll be fine. For one thing, I know those guys. They're harmless unless you're a criminal. And for another, if anyone tries anything they won't know what hit them." He pointed at the energy band on his wrist. 

"Yeah, how's that going anyway?" Joe asked, leaning on the windowsill. 

"Oh, I'm up to about 73% of what I'm used to," Barry replied as he sat on the back of the couch and glanced up the stairs before calling up them. "Hey, Iris! Train leaves in ten minutes!"

"My hairdryer exploded!" Iris shouted back. 

" _... How??"_

"If I knew that I wouldn't be up here trying to figure it out!" 

"You can play detective when we get back, but we really need to get going!"

"We've still got a few minutes!"

"And people wonder why I'm always late," Barry muttered under his breath. He winced as Iris shouted down the stairs again.

"I heard that!" Joe laughed. 

"You're gonna be paying for that one," he pointed out. Barry shrugged. 

"Worth it." Iris came stomping down the steps and whisked out the door after giving her dad a peck on the cheek in goodbye. "See you later. Looks like I'll be getting the silent treatment all the way over." 

"Good luck." They exchanged an amused glance as Iris' voice drifted in through the front door. 

"He'll need it!" Barry trudged resignedly out the door and caught up to Iris as she moved to the end of the walkway. She frowned at him as she pointed at her watch.

"I did tell you," he reminded. She sighed.

"I know, I know. So what are we going to do?"

"Drive twenty miles over the speed limit and hope we don't get pulled over."

"That's a terrible plan," Iris protested as she got into the passenger seat. Barry slid behind the wheel, turned the key in the ignition, and then floored it. 

"You got a better idea?"

"...No. _Child!_ " She exclaimed as he turned the wheel sharply and navigated around the skater with relative ease. 

"Relax," Barry said soothingly. "You're forgetting that I have wicked fast reflexes." This was demonstrated yet again as he suddenly shifted into reverse in a sharp turn and avoided a parked car. 

"Mm," Iris whimpered, sliding down in her seat and making absolutely certain that she was buckled in. They got to the station and she stumbled to the platform behind him, sinking into her new seat with a sigh of relief as the train pulled out with a jerk. It was a fairly peaceful experience; Iris fell asleep with her head on Barry's shoulder while he read a book. He didn't get much time to do that anymore with everything going on. Not truly enjoying it and taking the time to do so, anyway. There was a slight rumble as the car hit a snag, and her head slipped down into the crook of his elbow. He watched her breath in and out for a few moments, captivated by the way her hair moved with each exhale. It wasn't until they came to a stop that he felt the need to wake her. 

"So? Where are we going?" Iris yawned as they stepped off of the train. Barry smiled down at her.

"I was thinking... Um... Well, you'll see." They caught a cab into the business district of town and got off in front of an elegantly-facaded building; Barry paused to visibly brace himself before walking in. After all, the place wasn't as it had been before the war with Damien Darhk. Sure, the outer office was okay. But the secret setup... Not so much. 

Oliver rounded a corner and came into view, freezing in surprise when he saw them. 

"Oh."

"Hey Ollie."

"Barry, hey. Nice to see you back on your feet," Oliver replied with a slight chuckle as he came in for a rare self-motivated hug. Warning sirens were going off all over the place. 

"Things that bad?" Barry whispered uneasily into his ear.

"You don't know the half of it." They split apart with wide smiles as if nothing bad had happened in the slightest, and Oliver seemed to notice Iris for the first time. "You gonna introduce your friend?" Barry started.

"Sorry, yeah. Iris West. Iris, this is Oliver Queen." 

"Pleasure," Iris greeted with a dreamy expression on her face. Oliver just cocked a slightly amused but inquisitive eyebrow at the speedster and smirked when he saw him rolling his eyes. There was a guilty cast to Queen's face, and awkwardly he tried apologizing. 

"Despite what Felicity might have said, I _did_ go to visit you a couple of times," he promised. 

"Really?" Iris broke in sarcastically. I never saw you." 

"Oliver was pretty busy the past couple of years," Barry defended quickly. "He doesn't get enough time to do all of the things he'd like to." Oliver flashed him a look of gratitude as a shriek exploded from the doorway behind them, and Barry suddenly found himself in a choke hold as Felicity slowly squeezed the life out of him. "Hi, Felicity."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming!?" She exclaimed as she finally let go and he took in a deep breath. 

"I did!" Barry protested. "I called you like five times. Straight to voicemail."

"Oh. Sorry. Glad you could come." 

"Hey Felicity," Iris chirped happily. Felicity zipped over to her for another bone-crushing hug.

"Iris, hi! How's it been? I kept missing you whenever I went to visit."

"Yeah, my schedule got really hectic so I had to change the hour and day."

"Hey, Iris," Barry broke in tentatively, "I need to talk to Ollie for a few minutes. Will you be okay on your own while I do that?"

"Oh, she's not alone," Felicity pointed out. Iris smirked and then made a shooing motion with her hand. Barry followed Oliver into the elevator, and they stepped out into a very disorganized and somewhat trashed "Arrowcave." 

"Pull up a chair," Oliver asked as he sat on a swivel. "So what's up?" 

"What _isn't_ up?" Barry sighed, flopping down on the edge of a table. "That would be a more appropriate question." He leaned forward slightly. "... But."

"You're wondering if it would be okay to tell Iris about me," Oliver stated. Barry nodded. "Barry-"

"Okay, before you say no with a disapproving scowl I'd like you to consider that I asked," Barry pointed out. "And what's there to know? Dig reenlisted, Sara's off doing other stuff with Palmer, and Thea threw in the towel. What is there to know?" Oliver stared at him, eyes wide. His tone softened, throbbing with fresh pain. "And Laurel. I'm so sorry, man." 

"Did Felicity tell you?" Oliver asked sharply with an intake of breath, turning his head to look at the Black Canary outfit hanging in its case. 

"... Sorta. I'm all caught up with the last three years, actually. Wasn't- wasn't hard. Did this, fought that. Had so many near-death experiences." That produced a genuine chuckle out of Queen, which was rare in itself. 

"Yeah, I had several of those. I don't recommend them."

"I've had a few myself. I don't either." Oliver regarded his friend curiously, noting the change from the mental image he held of him. 

"You look like you've seen a few battles," he remarked carefully. Barry gave a slight nod of the head. 

"I've got a story to tell," he replied just as carefully.

"Felicity told me already. She also said you were nuts." 

"Is this nuts?" Barry asked; he flitted to the other side of the room in the blink of an eye and leaned against the wall there. 

"... _Yeah..._ "

"Nuts doesn't mean it isn't true." 

"You're talking to the guy who dresses up like Robin Hood and was a castaway on a deserted island for five years. I know." 

"So does this mean I can tell Iris or...?" Barry asked mischieviously. 

"Ah!" Oliver muttered. "Should've seen that coming. All right, fine. I'll tell her myself. You happy now?" 

"Very."


	18. 17

Felicity and Iris looked up as Oliver and Barry made their way back into the main room, the expressions on the girls' faces indicating that they had been laughing over something. 

"What's so funny?" Barry asked; he was in an even better mood than usual, while Oliver seemed to brighten considerably when he set eyes on Felicity. She pulled a strand of blonde hair away from her eyes and laughed. 

"Oh, nothing. Except me explaining to Iris how hacking into the CIA satellite can cause some odd footage to be streamed back."

"Two lions running from a hippopotamus on the savannah," Oliver whispered. Barry smirked. Queen casually placed his bow on one of the tables and sat down, playing with one of the arrow tips. Felicity stared at him in horror as Iris got a look on her face that said "I should have seen that coming" and glared at Barry accusatively as he shrugged. 

"Ah... hey, Oliver. Aren't you forgetting something?" Felicity inquired pointedly.

"Hmm?" He looked up from what he was doing. "Oh. Yeah. So Iris, if you haven't already figured it out, I'm the Green Arrow."

"I _knew it!"_ Iris stated triumphantly, turning to Barry with no small degree of ecstasy lighting up her features. "And that actually makes a lot of sense, considering."

"Considering... _what!?"_ Felicity exclaimed, greatly confused. 

"Yes, well..." Barry started to say, laughing slightly before zipping out of the room and coming back in from the Arrowcave with a sweater, which she found suddenly draped over her shoulders. 

"You weren't joking," she breathed. 

"You looked cold."

"I was. Thanks." 

"Neat, huh?" Iris asked enthusiastically, falling back against Barry's chest with complete and utter faith that he would be there to catch her. He let out a slight _oof_ as the air was partially expelled from his lungs, shook his head with amusement, and wrapped his arms around her stomach in a quick squeezing hug before letting go. She elbowed him pointedly in the ribs.

"Right. Iris and I were wondering if you wanted to go out tonight or, you know." 

"Uh..." Oliver began to say uncertainly, but Felicity cut him off.

"Um, _yes,"_ she said with exuberant confidence. "And since you have no idea what the good places are, I have the perfect spot."

"Great!" Barry replied happily, lightly punching the unenthusiastic Oliver in the shoulder. "Come on, Ollie. It'll be fun." 

"All right, I'll go!" He sighed, pressured by Felicity on one side and Barry on the other. "And Barry, call me Ollie in public and it _won't_ be a good time had by all, okay?" Barry rolled his eyes as they walked out the door. They ended up at a Mediterranean place about ten minutes south of the building they had been in, which had incredible-tasting food for the right price. Dinner was, to put it mildly, a quiet but upbeat affair, and after it ended the four of them walked about downtown for a while. Barry had to admit that he hadn't relaxed fully in this way since he'd gotten his powers, which was both a relief and a sad revelation on how busy his life had become. It was a good moment. They finally returned to the Arrowcave- which Iris was allowed to go into this time- and chatted for a bit, catching up on anything new or seemingly relevant. Barry was also able to re-tell his tale to Felicity, who actually believed him this time, and Oliver got to hear the whole thing. Eventually Barry glanced at his watch and sighed.

"I'd like to drop in on Dig before we go back to Central City," he explained. "And if we want to catch the last train back..."

"It was so nice to see you," Felicity said as she gave him a tight hug. "Both of you," she added as she moved on to Iris. 

"If you ever need help..." Oliver began, then broke off self-consciously. Barry smiled. 

"I'll know that there are people here who will," he finished. Iris and Barry left the two of them and caught a bus to another more residential section of town, where they entered into an apartment building and then waited patiently outside of one of the doors after knocking. After a little while they heard the bolt slide out of the lock as Diggle pulled the door open, a look of incredulity plastered across his face. 

"Barry!?"

"Hey Dig. What, Felicity didn't tell you that I was out of my coma?"

"She did, but I wasn't expecting you to make it to Star City for a visit." He eyed the speedster warily. "I've seen guys come out of comas that last three years. It takes a while for them to get back on their feet." Barry shrugged, smirking a little. Iris peered out from behind his shoulder, and Diggle smiled. "Iris. Haven't seen you in a while."

"Hi John." Crying started up inside the apartment, and Diggle sighed. Rubbing his face he muttered,

"That's Sara. She's-"

"-Yours and Lyla's," Barry finished. "Congrats."

"Thanks. She's also got a case of strep, so neither of us have gotten much sleep in the past few days... uh, where are my manners? Come on in." He stepped back into the apartment so that they could, and as they walked into the living room Sara was standing in her playpen with her hands grabbing at the sides, crying to be taken care of. Barry walked right over and crouched down to be at eye level with her; seeing a new face her sobs ended to be replaced by wide and curious eyes. 

"Hey Sara." He pulled something out of his coat pocket- a small stuffed rabbit- and handed it to her. "Nice to meet you." She took it hesitantly, then- realizing how soft it was- hugged it tight and buried her face in its stomach. 

"She's _adorable,"_ Iris whispered. Diggle puffed out his chest a bit in pride as he regarded his daughter fondly. Barry glanced back at them with a wide grin on his face as Sara gurgled happily, snuggling the rabbit.

<^•¥•^>

"No no nono nononononononononono!" Barry exclaimed as they ran out onto the platform just in time to see the last train pulling away for the night as it headed to Central City. Iris skidded to a halt next to him, breathing heavy but otherwise normal. The run hadn't been that exhilarating. 

"Guess we'll have to find a hotel," she sighed. Barry ran his fingers through his hair as if debating something, then pulled back the sleeve on his arm to get a look at the energy bracelet wrapped around his wrist. The percentage read as being at 81%. If he were careful...

"We can still get back home tonight," he remarked slowly. Iris stared at him quizzically before it sank in. 

"Are you sure you're up for a run that long?" She asked, eyes wide. "And anyway, how are you going to take me with you?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Barry replied steadily. "I just have to be aware of how my energy levels are feeling on the way home. And as for taking you with me, it's easy. I'd carry you."

"All the way back home?" 

"All the way back home." Iris thought for a moment, then nodded. 

"Well, it's better than staying the night over in a hotel and missing the office party tomorrow," she finally said. Barry smiled. 

"Okay, ground rules. Number 1: Don't worry about slipping. There's no way I'd drop you, so don't choke me by wrapping your arms around my neck-"

"Check."

"Number 2: Breathe like you normally would. If you take a deep breath it can collapse your chest cavity."

"Got it."

"Number 3: Try to enjoy the ride."

"Wait- ah!" She made a squeak as he scooped her up- bridal style as it was the most secure way to carry her- and took off down the tracks. For the first few minutes she kept her face buried into his chest, arms folded tight against her body. Eventually she worked up the courage to lift her head a little bit, and even though her eyes were streaming tears from the force of the chill wind they were wide with astonishment. The world was flying by in streaks of color on either side, and when she tilted her head up slightly to look at Barry he was entirely in an only just recognizable blur. There was an amazing power in the speed, and an exuberance in the run. Iris felt her heart skip a beat when they ran out over the surface of a lake, and she could tell that he was smiling at her reaction. 

Barry began to slow down about fifteen minutes out from Central City, and it became easier for Iris to see their surroundings as the light of the buildings loomed up over the surface of the water. They broke a steady line of cresting waves as they ran over it as if it were solid land, and when Iris glanced at her watch she saw that it had taken about as long as a train ride to get back home. Gradually she heard a rasping sound, and it took her a moment to realize that it was Barry. His breathing had become ragged; that little adventure had cost him. They came to a halt on the front porch of the West residence, and Iris was greatly confused as to why he continued into the house and came back with a thick blanket until she felt the heat and smelled the smoke of a smothered fire which had started up on her shirt and pants. Barry himself was stamping out his jacket, and though it wasn't particularly funny Iris started laughing when he lifted up his foot and most of the rubber sole on both of his shoes had been worn off. 

"That was a bit of a rush," she gasped. Barry had braced himself on his knees, but he looked back up at her in between pants and shared the sentiment. "Are you okay?"

"It was worth it," he rasped. "One hundred percent." 

"I get why you love it so much."

"Just a taste of the whole thing." The comment was slightly sobering; all of that power, that speed, that adrenaline, and it was just a small part of the experience he got out of it. Iris followed him as he stumbled on tired legs back inside, regarding her best friend and trying to comprehend just how exhilarated his powers must make him feel.


	19. 18

Barry hesitated just outside the entry to the Cortex, large and bulging folder clutched against his chest. He took a deep breath and made the last few momentous steps which brought him to the computer terminal, where Cisco was lazily rotating back and forth in his swivel chair. Ramon caught Barry out of the corner of his eye, choking on his laffy taffy and almost falling to the floor as the pentagonal wheels skewed out from underneath him.

"Hey man," he coughed. "What are you doing here?" Barry sighed, seeming to weigh the thick folder in his hands before quietly setting it down in front of his friend and falling into another of the chairs. 

"Metahumans," he said quietly. Cisco gave him an odd look, but leafed through the contents. His eyes widened in a justifiable horror. 

"And nobody knows about this?" He asked. Barry just shook his head. "This is awful. These- these are _people_. They have families, friends. Lives. They're not lab rats."

"General Eiling doesn't see it that way." Cisco leaned back in his chair, disgusted. Something suddenly seemed to occur to him, as his brow furrowed thoughtfully. 

"Why did you bring this to me?"

"Because I need your help," Barry murmured. "And I need one of those heat and friction-resistant suits you made for firefighters."

"How do you know about those?" Cisco exclaimed. "I never got that project off the ground. CCFD saw 'S.T.A.R. Labs' written on the paper and threw it out the window."

"I really need you to remember," Barry pleaded, leaning forward in his chair.

"Remember what?"

"The other timeline!"

"Barry, there _is_ no other timeline!" Cisco stood up to leave, flustered. Barry reached out with his wicked fast reflexes and caught his arm; Cisco went incredibly still. His eyes dilated, and then he stumbled forward out of shock. He collapsed into Barry, who supported him until he found his footing again. Their eyes met, and Cisco was panting. He looked around at their surroundings and tried to figure out what was happening. 

"You okay?" Barry asked quietly. Cisco nodded. "What do you remember?"

"Everything. Dude, _how._ " 

"If I knew that I wouldn't still be here."

"... Good point." Cisco looked back at the file of meta experiments, his gaze darkening. "That could have been us."

"Which is why, even though I need to get back to the original timeline, we need to rescue them," Barry explained.

"Agreed. Let me go and get one of our suits." Allen followed him down a familiar hallway to his personal workspace, where he dragged a bin out from a bottom shelf and, coughing as he dislodged the dust, threw it open to reveal about five suits. Two were in red- one bright and the other dark- one was tan, and one was in a storm gray. The last one was a rusty brown.

"Um...?" Cisco looked slightly embarrassed. 

"I made a few in different colors to show the CCFD that I could do any shade they needed or wanted," he explained. "And bud, I'm going with you. I can work in the field, but I want to be there."

"I'm pretty sure you're not the only one," Barry murmured thoughtfully as he ran his fingers over the material of the bright red one- his suit- and considered. "These other suits... if other people decide to go with us it would be a good idea to have them suit up, too. To obscure their identities?"

"And that way their clothes won't catch on fire," Cisco added with a dry chuckle. 

"... point taken. I- what are you doing?" 

"I need to make the comms and the logo, duh!" Barry sighed good-naturedly as Cisco moved over to a computer and began recreating the products before sending them to be fabricated. "There. Done. Boom." 

"Meet me at the house as soon as you can, all right?" Barry asked. "I need to round up the West trio."

"Oh, so they know?" 

"Yep. Ironically, Iris was the only person who knew for a while and I told her right after it happened."

"... yeah, just a bit ironic." Barry was about to leave when Dr. Wells wheeled in; Cisco was standing in front of the bin with the suits so it was obscured, luckily.

"Mr. Allen," Wells said pleasantly as he came to a halt. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to ask Cisco if he wanted to go see a movie," Barry replied breezily. "Already looked for Caitlin but she's off the grid." There was a slight pause as Eobard Thawne considered. Finally he nodded. 

"Enjoy yourselves," he murmured. "Oh, and Cisco."

"Yeah?"

"Don't go getting him into trouble." 

"Right..." the two friends exchanged a glance after he had gone. "That was close."

"Yep." There was a slight beep as the fabricator finished its work, and Cisco pulled out a tray of standard-style comms aside from Barry's lightning-styled ones and his logo. 

"Hothothothot! Ooh, that stings." He dumped them on top of the suits and then closed the bin, handing it to Barry. "Better get these out of here before You-Know-Who comes back. I'll round up Caitlin and we'll head over."

"See you soon," Barry replied before zipping out of S.T.A.R. Labs with the bin gripped firmly in his arms. He heard a familiar crackling noise and smiled, glancing down at the power bracelet. 93%.

<^•¥•^>

Wally was sitting on the steps of the stairs enjoying a steaming cup of coffee and a thin paperback when the window panes shuddered slightly, and he frowned. 

"Hey, guys?" He called. Iris and Joe, who had been in the kitchen, came out. The panes continued shuddering. They all went and moved the curtains to peer out in search of what was making this occur, surprised to see a streak of bright gold lightning come screaming over the crest of the hill. It was suddenly in the center of the living room, and as soon as it came to a stop it fizzed out. Barry set the bin down on the couch with a satisfied look on his face as he checked the power band again, happy to see that it was still holding steady at 93%. Seeming to realize that they were there, he smiled widely. 

"Hi."

"Wh-what was that?!" Iris exclaimed; Joe and Wally were stunned into silence.

"What was what?"

"The electricity stuff."

"Oh! I got my lightning back," the speedster stated proudly. "Hey, is there any of that ravioli left from last night?"

"Uh... yeah..." she followed him into the kitchen after a split second of hesitation, curiosity winning out. "What did you mean by 'got it back?' You mean you usually run around trailing lightning bolts when you do your speed thing?" Barry nodded, absorbed in his hunt for leftovers as he opened the fridge and stuck his head inside to look. A short exclamation of triumph followed shortly after, and he put the container in the microwave. 

"Hey, Barr?" Joe called from the other room. "What are these?" 

"I'm waiting for Cisco and Caitlin to show up before I explain," he called back. The microwave dinged. "Ah." He and Iris returned to the living room as the doorbell rang. "Perfect timing." Caitlin looked skeptical- to say the least- but Cisco was beaming at them happily as he wiped his muddy sneakers on the mat and stepped in. 

"Wal-man!" He greeted enthusiastically as he and Wally grasped each other's arms Roman style in greeting. "Nice to see you around. How's school?" 

"Taxing," Wally admitted. "But worth it. Hey, Caitlin."

"Hi Wally. Iris, Joe." Her cordial tone took on a frosty note of disapproval. "Barry."

"I know you're mad, but everything's going to make sense," he assured. "I swear. So, for starters, what did Cisco tell you on the way over here?"

"Oh, I believe that you're a metahuman," Caitlin replied formally. "I'm not bought on the alternate timeline."

"That's good, because you don't have to," Barry said. He was speaking in quick sentences, each word accentuated by a humming, energetic tone. "Just the part about me being a meta. So, the reason I wanted to speak to everyone is this: the metahumans that General Eiling has under lock and key-"

"-You want to rescue them," Joe finished for him. "I saw that coming a mile away."

"Right. Cisco's going to be out in the field with me to handle hacking in and other technical problems we might run into."

"Then I'm going too," Detective West interrupted again determinedly, crossing his arms. "I'm not gonna support this if I can't."

"I knew you were going to say that." 

"Count me in," Wally volunteered. He looked slightly embarrassed as everyone turned to stare at him. "What? I'm a pretty sick driver, and you'll need a speedy getaway once you get them all out of there."

"He's got a point," Cisco conceded before Joe could protest. "And he wouldn't be going into the base with us."

"Yeah, okay," Barry agreed somewhat grudgingly. "You're in." He paused, surprised as he turned to Iris. "I thought you'd want to tag along." Iris shook her head. 

"I'll keep Caitlin company while she watches you from S.T.A.R. Labs. I assume that's why you brought her in, right? And with the rest of you gone she might need my help."

"Perfect!" Barry finalized before she could change her mind. "Which leads us to the contents in the bin..."

<^•¥•^>

"I still don't get why we have to wear these monkey suits," Joe grumbled. He fidgeted as he adjusted the gray tri-polymer fabric, uncomfortable at how form-fitting it was. Wally, who had opted for the dark red, was inclined to agree.

"I feel so exposed in this thing," he muttered. 

"I have no idea how Barry manages to wear this every single day." Cisco seemed to be apologizing to thin air as he pulled at the tan collar to try and ventilate, which was easier since their suits had had the masks cut away in favor of more comfortable motorcycle helmets. "It's so hot!" 

"Quit complaining," Barry laughed as he stepped into the room. The signature comms had been put in their place, and the white logo with the gold bolt and border was gleaming like a beacon in the center of his chest. His bright red suit seemed to glow slightly under the lights, reflecting them back just enough to draw attention to the crimson color. 

"We good to go?" He asked. There were nods from everybody in the room. "Good." He pulled his mask over the upper portion of his face, the lower part coming up to clasp snugly against his jawline.

"You look like a superhero who just stepped out of a comic book," Iris remarked quietly. Barry looked at her with a smirk. 

"Well, there's a reason for that..." 

"We'll be out in the van," Cisco said pointedly. Wally and Joe made their goodbyes before joining him; Caitlin slapped her friend on the arm, then hugged him briefly, and went to her car to wait for Iris. Cisco unobtrusively made himself scarce, closing the front door behind him. 

"Be careful Allen," Iris commanded, trying to bring some humor into the comment. It came off more serious than she had intended. Barry seemed to hesitate over something before he made up his mind. He stepped in close and kissed her on the forehead, looking down into her wide and surprised eyes. 

"I will be," he assured. "Goodbye, Iris." A flash of golden lightning and red streak, and he was gone.


	20. 19

"Are we set?" Barry asked quietly; he received several affirmations on the comms in response. Cisco shimmied up to him, face dark behind his helmet and protected. 

"This has got to be the nastiest hack I've ever done," he muttered, "but it'll get us in." 

"You sure this is necessary?" Barry asked. "I could phase in. That way we wouldn't run the risk of tripping the security system."

"I'm disabling the system now. Yikes. Fe- Overwatch would have us in by now." 

"You're doing great, _Vibe."_

"Thanks man... and we're in."

_"That was fast_ ," Wally commented over the comms.

"That's kind of our team's thing," Cisco pointed out. "Star City's all shooty-shooty bang bang and we're more speedy-speedy whoosh whoosh."

" _Could that sentence have been more adolescent?"_ Caitlin asked sarcastically.

"Everybody's a comedian..." There was a slight rustling sound as Joe and Wally maneuvered their way into the hiding place where Cisco and Barry were located.

"A bit tight," Wally murmured uneasily. "So what's next?" 

"Security's down," Cisco announced. "So Barry's gonna make his move, and we come in after he's taken out the bad guys."

"There must be fifty guards in this hallway alone," Joe protested. 

"And I'm fast enough that they won't see me coming," Barry reassured as he readied himself for a fight. The energy bracelet read 99%, and he could feel his energy coursing through his body. Effortlessly, he took off, phased the electric fence, and was through the door before any of his team were aware that he had left. There was the unmistakeable sound of people being beat up, and then everything went silent. 

" _Phase two,"_ Barry breathed. Cisco and Joe left Wally near the truck in the yard and followed through, the detective raising his gun and the metahuman with his hand held out in front of him defensively. It was unnecessary; they paused to stare for a few moments as unconscious security in the tens to twenties range of numbers lay littered down the corridor. 

"Whoa," Joe whispered. 

"You don't know the half of it," Cisco murmured back. "Terminal's this way." He set his stuff down and plugged it in, getting to work on eraseing the security logs and files on the residents inside.

"Don't we need those for a conviction?" Joe asked.

"It's all copying to my tablet before it gets erased," Cisco assured absentmindedly as his fingers cantered over the keyboard. "Hey, Flash. Got a hypothetical question for you."

"Flash?" Joe whispered, confused.

" _Code names to conceal our identities in case someone's listening in."_ Barry's voice crackled over the comm. " _I'm the Flash, then our resident tech genius is Vibe. You're the Detective-"_

"Very creative."

" _And then we've got Taillights."_

_"That me? Cool."_ Wally chipped in his ten cents, pleased at the nod to his street racing.

_"Anyway. What's the question, Vibe?"_

"My question is this: why are we breaking in to a max security military base to break people out if, in the alternate timeline where we're supposed to be, none of them were ever experiments to begin with?" There was a long pause which was accentuated by grunts and yelps. Barry had found another patrol. 

_"Because I'm not 100% certain that I actually_ can _get back to that timeline,"_ he explained. _"I think things might have been too messed up by this point. So just to be on the safe side, we're getting them out now while we have the element of surprise. If we wait too long and people know that I'm around they would probably be expecting us. Or trying to kidnap me as well."_

"Either way it's for the best that we're doing this now," Joe agreed, coming to peer over Cisco's shoulder. "You made quick hatchet work of those files."

"For a super secret military installation, their firewall is really weak," Cisco explained modestly with a shrug. "Flash, I'm done with the data. Moving to opening up the door to the cell wing."

_"Nice job. See you shortly."_

"Don't wait up." Cisco finished the final touches to his rooting around in the system, then packed up his tablet in his backpack. He and Joe checked that the coast was clear before sprinting down the now safe hallways- hurdling over unconscious guards- and heading for the prison center. All they had to do was follow the trail of sleeping bodies. 

"Geez," Joe exclaimed after they entered into about the fifth corridor like that. "B- Flash, remind me never to get on your bad side."

_"I wouldn't worry, Detective. I only go after guys who are asking for it by participating in illegal activity."_

"I've dealt with metas before," Joe commented uneasily as he took careful steps over a guard and paused next to a fist-sized hole in the concrete wall. "But you're the only one that actually scares me." An uncomfortable silence settled over the comm. Finally Cisco broke the silence.

"His powers allow him to use a wide variety of speed-related abilities," he explained quietly. "He doesn't just run."

"I'm getting the idea." 

_"I never realized that I scared you in that way,"_ Barry replied. _"I don't try to._ " Wally began whistling awkwardly over the comm, and Iris' conspicuous cough prompted Joe to formulate a clumsy apology of his own. Caitlin was noticeably absent from the conversation.

"Sorry, kid. I'm still trying to get used to all this."

_"I found them."_

<^•¥•^>

Cisco and Joe arrived in what looked, for all intents and purposes, exactly like a prison block. Barry was already leaning over the control panel that gave power to the cells, trying to identify which ones held which convicts. 

"We've got a few hostiles in here," he remarked pointedly to them as they came up next to him. 

"I took the liberty of making these special tranqs," Cisco said proudly as he pulled them out of his bag. "They'll be out for the count until we get them safely into the meta wing at Iron Heights."

"Sounds like a plan," Joe agreed. "Best idea is to tranq the, while they're still in their cells. Less trouble that way."

"I'd especially look out for double Weather Wizard trouble," Cisco warned.

"Don't forget Double Down," Barry added. "Those cards get nasty real quick."

"And Deathbolt."

"Rainbow Raider."

"The correct name is _Prism._ "

"No I'm pretty sure we all agreed on Rainbow Raider."

"Who are all these people?!" Joe exclaimed, interrupting their pointless argument. "Eh- know what, never mind. The two of you just find the hostiles and incapacitate them, and then we'll work from there."

"I can get behind that." Cisco loaded two tranq guns, tossed one to Barry, and then they advanced down the cell block. They occasionally stopped in front of one to shoot into it; a corresponding thud soon followed the action. After about five minutes they returned.

"Open 'em up," Barry commanded. Cisco nodded and set to work getting them open. 

"Oh. Can you grab the Quantum Splicer out of my bag so we can give it to Ronnie and Stein?"

"Sure thing. I'm guessing you've also got special gloves for Plastique?"

"Your guess is spot on."

_"What was that about Ronnie?"_ Caitlin asked. Cisco and Barry exchanged a glance. 

"It's hard to explain," Barry said carefully. We'll wait until we get back to S.T.A.R. Labs to go into anything."

_"But- ... Fair enough..."_ she sighed resignedly. 

"Boom! Who's the best hacker in the world?" Cisco rhetorically questioned with great pride as every single barred door in the cell block slid open. 

"Felicity Smoak," Barry laughed as the inmates made their way cautiously over to their rescuers. "But I think she'd give you a pass on this one for being exceptionally well done." Firestorm was the first to stumble over, a faint glint of recognition in his frantic eyes. 

"I know you," he murmured, fixating on Cisco. "At least, he- I- the experiment, it went terribly wrong, but your voice..."

"It's okay," Cisco said reassuringly. He stepped closer to Firestorm, whose hands started to glow slightly with heat as he became nervous. "Hey, hey. Don't worry. This thing here? It's a quantum splicer. It can separate you from Ronnie."

"Really?" Stein asked, surprised. He submitted to allowing Cisco to put the device on him, then grunted in pain. The split wasn't easy or smooth, like it should have been. A quick, bright burst of insanely hot blue flame enveloped Firestorm's body, and even in their heat-resistant suits the three rescuers cringed from the blaze. When it faded Ronnie Raymond collapsed face first onto the floor, and Martin Stein fell heavily against the wall. 

"You okay, buddy?" Cisco asked; he slipped one arm under Ronnie's shoulder and Barry slid his under the other. Together they pulled him to his feet, and he sagged between them. 

"Better," Ronnie croaked. He shot a sidelong glance at Stein. "If it hadn't have been for him, there'd probably be a crater where this building sits. He kept us relatively stable while they were doing their... tests." More of the captives were filing over to them, and everyone looked up sharply at a harsh banging sound which echoed throughout the vaulted ceiling. 

"Reinforcements," Joe identified with a worried look directed at his foster son. 

"Where were they keeping the data for the experiments?" Barry asked sharply. It was Stein who answered, managing to stand on his own two feet with difficulty. 

"In a fireproof room some ways down the main hall," he said. "All hard copies. They worried it would be too easy to erase on the computer."

"They were right," Cisco said, pointing at his tablet. 

"You sound really familiar," Ronnie murmured. Cisco lifted the visor on his helmet and smiled at the look of surprise which crossed his friend's face. 

"Hiya."

"Here they come!" It was a new voice, but still somewhat known. Something exploded a minute later, and that was when they realized it was Sergeant Bette Sans Souci who had spoken. She effectively collapsed the passage at the far end and bought them some time. 

"We need help getting these guys out!" Barry said loudly, taking charge of the situation. Soon Double Down, Deathbolt, Mist, and the two Weather Wizards were being dragged unceremoniously through the hallways. After much heated persuasion, Stein and Raymond had agreed to merge into Firestorm again. They and Plastique were clearing a path while Cisco and a few unknown non-hostile metas protected the convicts and the people carrying them. Barry had gone far ahead of the group to deal with the file room. 


	21. 20

"Look out!" Joe shouted. Cisco whirled around, dropped Blackout on the floor like a bag of potatoes, and stretched out his hands. Concussive shockwaves arced away from his fingers, pounding into a group of guards as they aimed their rifles to fire at the procession. Firestorm turned to stare at him incredulously. 

"How...?" He began. Cisco shrugged as he picked up his cargo again. 

"I got mad skills, yo." 

_"Please never say that again,"_ Wally groaned over the comm. A chorus of agreement ensued from Iris and Caitlin back at S.T.A.R. Labs.

"Yeah, yeah. Get the engine geared up. This'll be a hasty escape."

_"Way ahead of you. Just waiting for you guys."_

_"Don't wait up for me._ " Barry's voice crackled over the system. " _I can find my way back, and this might take a while."_

_"Note-."_ That was the moment that the comms went dead, fizzling out. Cisco and Joe shot concerned looks at each other, their facial expressions only just visible through the tinted visors. 

"It's never easy, is it?" Cisco asked.

<^•¥•^>

The moment the comms turned static was the moment that Barry shifted into high gear. He was reading at a fluctuating 100%, though it occasionally kept spluttering back down a percentage. He knew that time was of the essence, and there wasn't enough of it to spare. Every moment was on the clock now, and everything he did needed to be planned according to that tight schedule. Even with his speed, it would be tight. The sound of boots echoed down the hall, each footfall sending heavy vibrations through the floor. Barry glanced at the energy band one last time, sighing in contentment to see it holding steady at 99%. A steady number was better than a fluctuating one.

The very air seemed to crackle with anticipation as the guards rounded the corner. Time slowed to a crawl. Barry indulged himself in a deep, relaxed breath and then slammed into them at 500mph without mercy. They sprawled across the acrylic tile with moans of pain at being run over by the equivalent of a freight train and put up no opposition as he passed. 

The room was dark, badly illumined by a navy blue light and flickering reds, greens from the electronic keypad next to the door. Rows upon rows of filing cabinets filled the majority of it, and resigning himself to a certain degree of tedium the speedster opened them, pulling out each file and dumping them all into a large pile. There were so many that it took the better part of twelve minutes, during which he overheard the sounds of battle on the comms. At the end of the objective he rubbed his hands together, producing enough friction to generate lightning. He shot it into the files, which sparked and began to smoke. As he backed out of the room they had sprung up into a great inferno which greedily licked flaming tongues toward the ceiling. The slid closed just as a voice sounded nearby.

"Now who are you?" A gravelly, authoritative person stepped out of an alcove, laughing slightly. "Nice mask. Going trick-or-treating? Seems pretty childish."

"Not childish," Barry retorted. "Smart. If you don't know who I am you can't come after me." Eiling smiled.

"Oh, I see. You're that bright red blur of nothing that's been laying my highly trained assault teams out flat on the cement. A metahuman... with the ability to travel at high speeds."

"You don't know the half of it. I'm here to rescue the other metahumans you've got locked up, and believe me when I say that if you _ever_ go after them again I _will_ find you. As it is, the news is going to have a field day with your little base here, and all the illegal experiments you've been doing in it."

"Brave words from a man afraid to show his face," Eiling replied unconcernedly. Barry's eyes narrowed in annoyance, but his comment was deathly serious.

"I mean it. Stay away from the metahumans, or else." He made a show of turning his back to the general, heard the click of the hammer as the sidearm cocked, and raced to catch the bullet before it had hardly left the barrel. He dropped it in Eiling's surprised palm and then left, headed for the outdoors. The van was long gone, but there were obvious signs of struggle which had taken place in the fenced-in yard. Dark streaks of rubber showed where the van had peeled away from its idling spot, and he followed. 

Even through the glass, Barry could hear Joe let out a high-pitched squeal when he came up level with the car and tapped on the window. Wally and Cisco were in stitches by the time he got it rolled down.

"It's taken care of," Barry explained through a fit of laughter, leaning his elbows on the door frame and sticking his head in. Joe peered over his shoulder to see a steady blur where his foster son's feet should have been and blinked a couple of times.

"I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to that."

"You'd better!" Cisco called from farther back in the car; the words came out in gulps and wheezes he was laughing so hard. "From here on out it's going to be high-speed 24/7."

"Hey, Cisco! Breathe!" Barry commanded, laughing himself. 

"I'm trying!"

"Hey, this car's probably doing 90-95," Wally pointed out. "How long can you keep that up for?"

"Long as you want me to. You'll run out of gas long before I run out of steam."

"I'm sorry, but what exactly is going on?" Professor Stein shifted forward to bring his head up between the driver's and passenger's seats. "Who are you people?" 

"This is a rescue, pal!" Wally explained. "And we're doing the rescuing."

"But who sent you? Where are we going?"

"S.T.A.R. Labs, where you'll all hide out until our CCPN contact blows the whistle on Eiling's operations. He'll never be able to come after you again, and- bonus- none of your names will be disclosed." Cisco breezed through the explanation as he fashioned power-dampening cuffs on their sleeping and dangerous cargo. "These guys'll have some nice, cozy cells waiting for them at Iron Heights, where they won't harm anybody."

"I didn't think anybody'd be coming for us," Ronnie admitted from the back. "But I'm glad you did."

_"Is that Ronnie?"_ Caitlin asked hopefully over the comm. The man in question brightened considerably on hearing her voice. 

"Yeah Cait, it's me. It's really me. Look, I'll see you soon. We're almost there."

_"I'll be waiting."_

<^•¥•^>

"Ronnie!" Caitlin threw herself into his arms, and the poor man, having been recently imprisoned, lacked the strength to support them both. They went crashing onto the floor in a fit of joyous reunion, and the other survivors were left to step over or around them as they made their way toward an area where they could rest and recieve medical attention. Iris hugged her brother and father tightly when they got back, and then became surprised when she looked around and couldn't find Barry. She decided to go looking for him. 

<^•¥•^>

"You can have this back now," Barry said quietly as he held out the energy band. Thawne took it and did a once-over. Apparently satisfied that it was in good condition he put it back in its place within the Time Vault to charge. 

"I assume this means that you have full speed back?" He asked. Barry nodded, leaning against the wall and letting out a sigh. He gestured to the surveillance videos that Thawne had set up on the holographic display.

"So I'm just curious, but do you get all the basic packages or...?" Thawne let out a short, dry laugh.

"Ah yes, the Barry Allen wit. I'd forgotten what that sounded like. Kind of nostalgic." He gazed at the other speedster with no small degree of disdain and a sparkling of curiosity out of what had once been Harrison Wells' eyes. "I wonder if you're fast enough to get me home."

"I am."

"Will you?"

"A deal's a promise, and I always keep mine." Barry stood back to full height and regarded him steadily. "You should too."

"I'm going back home," Thawne pointed out. "Why should I care about what happens to your father once I'm gone?"

"Because I'm not sending you back until you revert to your original body and confess to my mom's murder _with_ a DNA sample that we can match to the blood found at the house. You give, you get. That's how a compromise works." Eobard sighed, then rifled around in his jean pockets until he found a small vial. Grimacing, he downed it and fought the gag reflex as he swallowed. His body seemed to melt into the now-familiar true form of the futuristic Thawne.

"Happy now?" He asked, voice slightly hoarse from the change in the vocal cords. Barry just stared at him and crossed his arms. "Okay, fine. I'll sit down and do a confession right now. You can take the blood sample after. That good enough for you?" A short nod of approval. "Great."

<^•¥•^>

Barry watched Thawne shoot through the time rift in a streak of yellow suit and red lightning, and as it closed he clenched the USB drive in his fist. It seemed to be a small, repetitive victory, but he had learned a while ago to take his wins where he could and cut his losses when they came about. 

"What was that all about?" Iris asked. Barry turned, surprised to see her standing there in the parking lot with him. He didn't know why; she was always finding things out when he least expected her to. 

"He... helped me out," Barry explained awkwardly. "We struck a deal. I help him get home if he helped me get my speed back."

"And where is home?"

"Twenty-third century."

"... Okay." Barry exhaled loudly and leaned against a railing.

"We've got an... interesting relationship," he said. "Long story short he murdered my mom after traveling back in time to kill me, but I followed him and got my younger self out onto the street. So he settled for killing my mom instead. And _then_ he couldn't get home so he made sure that the Particle Accelerator was going to explode, giving me my powers. Helped me in my training because he needed me to open open a temporal rift so that he could go home because he lost his speed."

"I only understood half of all that," Iris said quietly as she leaned against the railing with him, "but I got enough to know that it must have gutted you to let him go just now." Barry's smile was forced and tired.

"I've got a confession." He held up the flash drive. "My dad's getting out of prison with this. But yeah. It was hard." 

"Are you going to race back through time and fix everything back to the way it used to be?" Iris asked, shifting her weight so that she was braced against his arm in the 'annoying bestie' pose. Barry thought a few moments.

"I don't know if I should," he said carefully. "I haven't lost any of my memories, and I've messed with time enough to know that changing things always creates more problems than it solves. I feel like... like maybe I should leave things as they are, like if I try to mess with it everything will become so much worse than it is now."

"Well, whatever you decide, I'll always be there for you." She stood up on her toes to give him a peck on the cheek before falling back onto the balls of her feet, smiling at his surprised expression. "Don't act like you didn't want me to," she chuckled. "It didn't take much to figure out that we were more than friends in that other timeline. Every time I'd turn around you'd be staring at me with big lost puppy dog eyes. And that little kiss you gave me before you took off was uh... it was more than platonic." 

"Right," Barry replied; his eyes were wide. "Um... and you're not weirded out by that or...?"

"It took me the better part of three years to figure out how I felt about you," Iris admitted. A mischievous twinkle gleamed in her eyes. "Let's take this slow. Figure out where we're coming from and where we're going. Okay?"

"Deal." Barry smiled, slinging his arm over her shoulders as they walked back toward S.T.A.R. Labs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry Snowbarry shippers. I know I'm a grave disappointment :) 


	22. 21

Mya Insom looked up from the paperwork on her desk as a gust of wind tore through the empty precinct, and she felt a chill run down her spine. Whipping around, her bright golden eyes settled on the form of the person who was watching her. 

Barry stepped out of the shadows, Flash suit on and mask down, pointing over his shoulder at the security cameras.

"Nobody's gonna see this conversation. I've got them set on a loop."

"Clever," Mya murmured uneasily. "Why?"

"Because it was you, wasn't it?" Barry asked. She knew that he already had the answer.

"Yes."

"You're Dreamscape."

"... Yeah. How did you figure it out?"

"We've got surveillance from a bank robbery," Barry said, holding out a picture. "A general idea of gender, height, hair color. But then we've got a witness who says that the perp had gold eyes. Add to that the fact that Dreamscape knows how to avoid a camera, leaving evidence, and evading the police, and it wasn't hard to come back to you." He sat on the edge of her desk, eyes dark and serious. "You took the police training the academy gave you and used it to commit crime without getting caught. Smart, if you hadn't gotten cocky. You do realize that you weren't even on my radar before you messed with my timeline, right?"

"Most people don't even remember when I switched the timeline!" Mya gulped, surprised. "They just think it's a dream. Why didn't that happen with you?"

"I can actually _travel_ through time," Barry explained. "Not change it. So that gives me a certain immunity to the affects it has on regular people." He leaned in close. "The only thing wrong with your little plan was that it hinged on my not remembering it."

"It went so wrong," Mya sighed, lowering her head onto her desk with a definitive thud. "This isn't the city I used to know. I thought there wouldn't be any harm in setting your recovery back a few years, you know? You weren't that important, right? Except... I didn't know about the metahumans you fought. I didn't realize that, by the time the police found out about them, you'd already been fighting them for a few months. They overran the city, the national guard got called in... and I discovered the mistake I'd made." She looked back up at him with guilty eyes. "Tell the captain. I'm ready to face up to what I've done." 

"I already know," Singh stated in monotone as he walked out of his office with Joe and a few other senior detectives in tow. Barry's face suddenly blurred as they got close enough to see who he was. "And I don't know who you are, Flash, aside from what the media's been saying over the past couple of days, but I'm glad to have you on our side." Singh motioned to a few of the officers. "Take her down to booking. She'll be put on trial for all of the stuff we can pin." 

"I'm sorry," Mya whispered softly as she was escorted past. Barry blinked, swallowing a few times. 

"I never would have thought," Joe commented as he stood beside him. 

"Sometimes people do the wrong things for the wrong reasons," Barry sighed. His tone reflected sadness. "But that doesn't mean they aren't remorseful about them."

"You speaking from experience?"

"I've messed up a few times myself," Barry admitted, thinking back to Flashpoint. "That's why I'm not going to reset the timeline. There's too many things that could go wrong. This life, right now, this reality, is the one we're sticking with. And I guess I'll have to deal with adjusting to it, but I can't risk breaking time any more than I already have doing what I do." Joe nodded, a small smile on his face.

"Mmm. Good." They set themselves a less intimate and comfortable distance to appear more like acquaintances as Singh walked up to them.

"So uh..." it was rare to see him awkward, but it was happening. "Mm. So are you planning on sticking around, or no?" Barry pulled the mask over his head; the shadows obscured enough that with it he didn't have to blur his face. 

"I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon," he answered with a small smile. Singh appeared immensely relieved.

"Oh, good. Because my guys can lock up metas, but we have to catch 'em first." Barry let out a short laugh.

"I can definitely help with that."

"Great. Uh, listen. I've got to go right now, but I'd like you and Detective West to get to know each other. I want him to be the go-between for this department when dealing with metahumans."

"I'm sure we can work something out," Joe said somewhat gruffly, stifling a nervous chuckle. Singh walked off and Barry sighed loudly. "What?"

"Joe, you need to get better at lying," he chastised. 

"I thought I taught you that lying was a bad thing," Joe chastised back. Barry laughed. 

"Guess it didn't stick." West cuffed him over the back of the head affectionately. 

"Well if you're staying, then let's go get some pizza."

"I gotta do something first," Barry said. "I'll meet you at the house." He took off running and didn't stop until he'd reached Iron Heights, admitting himself into the visitor center and sitting at one of the phone banks. They let Henry Allen in, and he sat down opposite the glass with a cautious expression on his face.

"Hey son. What're you doing here at this time of night?"

"I wanted to show you this," Barry said, holding up the small flash drive. Henry leaned in closer to the glass to inspect it.

"What's on that?"

"Your ticket out of here. A confession by the real killer about what really happened that night. I already forwarded a copy to the DA and Captain Singh. Case is being reopened, and the blood splatter that we found matches a sample of the real killer. They can prove that a fourth person was there that night, and with the testimony..."

"I'll be a free man," his dad finished. "Wow. How did you- when did-" 

"It's a long story," Barry explained. "When you're out, I'll have more than enough time to tell it. That's a promise."

"I'll hold you to that." There wasn't much left to say, but they kept talking for a few minutes after. 

Barry arrived at the West residence to a room full of friends- including Ronnie and Professor Stein- and couldn't help but laugh when they all sat in front of the tv and put on a cheesy sci-fi movie. All of the science experts in the room began yelling at the screen when something inaccurate was mentioned, which seemed to amuse Joe and Iris to no end. Iris lounged across the floor with her back resting against Barry's chest, and he dug into his private pizza box enthusiastically. Later on into the night he took a thoughtful glance around the room, reflecting on the almost-happy ending he was presented with. His mother was still dead, but unlike Flashpoint what he had here was real, and he vowed to hold onto it and give as good as he got to keep it that way. This was his life, and he was home.


	23. Epilogue

Captain Singh was stationed at his desk in boredom, playing with a pencil as he read over the latest case reports. It was just another day at the CCPD precinct. As typical of his morning routine he would interrupt his work occasionally to read the paper and enjoy his coffee. The latest article was announcing the Flash on the main page, with several shots- a few of gold and red streaks, some blurs, and one full profile- scattered across it. In the center of the article written by Joe's daughter was a mid-shot, from the torso up. His jaw was set in such a way that it was obvious he'd been caught unawares, eyes wide in surprise. Despite his usual reserve Singh just had to laugh; the thought of a superhero being stunned like that was a bit humorous.

"Uh captain? Captain!?" A pair of furrowed, annoyed eyebrows precipitated deep blue eyes as they peeked out over the top of the newspaper. 

"In here, Allen!" He called. Barry came rushing in at a full run, skidding to a halt and tripping over a lamp cord. He landed with both hands on Singh's desk, which sent the papers flying. He nabbed them with surprising dexterity and set them back down with a guilty expression on his face. 

"... Sorry." 

"What is it?" Singh asked, putting down the paper and rubbing his face. 

"Ballistics on the Johnson killing. Thought you'd want to be the first to see." The captain sat back in his chair, regarding his CSI with an incredulous expression. 

"That was fast." Barry shrugged. 

"Kinda slow around here at the moment, actually." He gave a smile and whisked back out of the office. Singh sighed, opening the case file and spreading the contents out to review them, pausing as he went to move the newspaper out of the way. He glanced at it and then at the empty doorway, a thoughtful expression on his face. 

"Couldn't be," he muttered as he started in on the case file.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So that's the end! I hope you enjoyed, and uh... you're welcome for my sharing it :) 

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: ALL RIGHTS TO THE CW, FLASH (2014 TV), AND DC COMICS. I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT FOR DREAMSCAPE AND THE IDEA OF THE STORYLINE. 
> 
> Hi guys! Here we are again at the beginning of another interesting adventure. I've been obsessed with Flash recently; sorry but not sorry. It's my new favorite tv show. 
> 
> So uh... I'll stop prattling on so that you can get to the good stuff :) enjoy.


End file.
